2286
by EndlessPaine
Summary: It's been almost a century since the green light ended the Reaper War. People have moved up in the world, people have disappeared, and new ones have been brought into it. This story follows the path of the children who came after Shepard gave her life. The galaxy may be safe from Reapers, but new danger always lurks in the shadows. FShep/Liara towards end. OCs
1. Chapter 1

**2286**

_**It's been ages since I've written fanfiction. So, I guess I'm giving it another shot. This story has been running through my head for a while and I would like to get it out. This will be tagged as FemShep/Liara, but it's not necessarily a fic about them. I'm tagging it as them because my FemShep romanced Liara, and it will involve them later down the line. It has OCs as it takes place a hundred years after the Reaper War. This is also an after Synthesis fic. Reviews and critiques welcomed. Oh, and most characters owned by BioWare from the Mass Effect trilogy.**_

**Chapter 1**

It has been nearly a hundred years since the green light shot from the center of the Citadel and Crucible that ended the great Reaper War. That was the beginning of peace; however, the Reapers hadn't been destroyed as everyone had expected. Instead, the ones that had come to bring the galaxy's its demise turned and began helping rebuild all that they had destroyed. Every organic being had also seemed to be granted new abilities, such as understanding those who came before them. The thing is, peace does not last forever, no matter how much you understand each other. Everyone has their own ways.

Tuchanka, the Krogan home world that had once looked like a desolate wasteland was now rebuilt to what it was before the Krogan destroyed it with war. The Genophage was a thing of the past. The Krogan and their world now flourished, something the rest of the species of the galaxy had thought was impossible. The planet still had its ugly spots and deserts though. No planet was perfect.

An old school Mako was tearing through the sand of the desert as fast as the hunk of junk would go. The tank had obviously seen plenty of battle as it had the scratches and gashes to show for it. The Mako climbed a dune, thankfully it wasn't too steep, and went into the air as it shot over the peak of sand.

"Woohoo!" shouted the human driver as she and her Krogan passenger began falling back to the ground. They landed with a thunk and the suspension creaked. The Krogan next to her grinned, showing his ugly teeth. "Best birthday present ever, Uncle Wrex," she said punching his arm.

"Well, you only turn fifty once, maybe," Wrex said as he unhatched the door, getting out of the tank, "And you need something you can't wreck. You've got the driving skills of a pyjak sniffing red sand. There's only one other person I know who drives worse." Fifty wasn't even close to old anymore. The woman still looked like she was in her twenties. Her dark brown hair was fairly short and messy with her bangs nearly getting in her blue eyes, but she pushed them to the side. Her body was adorned with an N7 armor set. Before, everyone's eyes and veins pulsed with green light, but now they had been able to mask it if they wanted to. The glowing green addition to their bodies had not been cosmetically appealing to most. Some still had allowed it to show on themselves believing it to be a gift from the great Commander Shepard. Most who were not seriously injured during the war were still alive to this day. Apparently the green light expanded everyone's lives to what some people believed eternally. No one had died of old age yet so, no one could pinpoint anyone's expiration date. Organics had a greater understanding in things now, of course, but some things just aren't meant to be knowledge.

She just laughed as she exited the Mako as well and began walking down the side of the tank. "Man, this thing is sweet. Just needs a few repairs, a new paint job, the cannon replaced, and she will tear shit up," the soldier said as she ran her hand over some damage.

"You planning on taking it into battle, Rex," Wrex questioned. No, her real name is not Rex. It's what she goes by and what everyone calls her. It's a nickname she was given when she was just a kid by Urdnot Wrex himself. She and Wrex were close as family. Rex called him her uncle, regardless of what species he was. She was tough as nails like he was and always loved hearing his battle stories.

"Hell yeah," Rex replied, "but do you know what would make me a million times happier?" She gave the Krogan clan chief a sly grin.

Wrex shook his head and waved his hand, already know what she was getting at. "No, Rex. You know I can't let you do that."

"Aw, come on, Wrex. You let Shepard do it," she retorted, getting a groan in return from Wrex.

"Shepard was part of the Krant for Grunt when he took his Rite," he explained, "You aren't Krogan. I can't let you just go in and do the Rite."

"You made Shepard an honorary Krogan before she-" Rex started, but she was cut off before she could finish. The loss of the Commander had weighed heavy on everyone that day.

"She cured the Genophage! She had the Krogan in her hands with the option to cripple us or save us if she wanted!" he shouted, but lowered his voice when Rex held her hands up in defense, "She saved us when she could have destroyed us. Kid, you're still just a runt no matter how old you are. Prove something and maybe. Just because you're N7 and a Spectre like she was doesn't mean anything to the Krogan."

"Noted," she said with a nod before her omnitool lit up, a call coming through. Rex lifted her arm, pushing in a code to answer the call. A hologram came up from the tool showing a quite muscular Alliance officer decked out in dress blues that were tight on his body. "Admiral Vega," she saluted, "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Commander Williams," he saluted back, "I wish I was calling to wish you a happy birthday, but we have a situation. Oh, and drop the formalities."

Rex raised an eyebrow, "Uh, sure. What's up?" She knew James since she was a kid and knew he wasn't all for the formal stuff around people he knew well, but hell, he was still a higher ranking officer. She tried to a least show some respect, especially for those who fought in the war.

"Come to Sol and meet me on the Citadel," he replied, "I'll explain there. Besides we might have to discuss it with the Council, too."

She nodded in compliance, "Sure, no problem. I'll take the next transport out. Is everything ok? This sounds pretty urgent."

"Well, it doesn't sound good. It could be nothing, but at the same time it could be something big. See you on the Citadel. Vega out." James ended the call.

Rex closed her omnitool and looked at Wrex, "Guess I'll finally be seeing some good action soon. Hopefully."

"Hah! You want action, why don't you be a Maw hunter," the Krogan let out a hearty laugh.

"Because I can do that doing the Rite."

* * *

After being moved to Earth and nearly being destroyed when the Crucible fired, the Citadel remained above the planet above London specifically. The beam that Shepard jumped through at the end of the war still connected Earth to the Citadel. The giant station was completely restored and the species of the galaxy thought it was only right for it to remain where it was since it played such a big part in ending the war.

Rex stepped off the transport at docking bay D-24. Surprisingly, Vega was already there waiting on her. It was a shock because he was so laid back that he was actually late for meetings on a regular basis. He was such a bad Admiral. "You're on time. It must be bad," she shot him a look.

James had grown a chin strap to make himself look older and more distinguished. He smirked at her, "Maybe. How is General Williams?"

She chuckled before replying, "She was good last time I talked to her. But she would probably kick your ass if she heard you calling her that." Rex's mother had achieved the rank of General, but Ash had hated the sound of the name. It reminded her of the stigma that came with that name from her grandfather. Ashley practically obliterated her family curse when she assisted Shepard in ending the Reapers.

"Huh, thought she was over that by now. Anyways, we got some reports that came in about some mercs causing problems out in the Artemis Tau cluster. At first they were guarding something big, but we don't know what. Then they just left, but left whatever they were protecting just floating in space. We haven't checked it out because we think it might be some elaborate set up."

"So, you want me to go in and hope I don't spring the trap, right," she gave him a look of disappointment.

"Rex, you know what you're doing. You're N7 like me, and a Spectre. You can handle yourself. We don't want to send just anyone into it if it's a trap. We wouldn't send a Spectre if we didn't think it was important."

"I'm so touched," she said with sarcasm seething out, "But if this is an Alliance matter, why do we have to talk to the Council?"

"Well, it's not really an Alliance matter. It's everyone's concern. On top of that, it's not really your mission. It's someone else's and you're going to oversee it," he replied.

"Wait, not my mission? What do you mean?" Rex was really confused now.

"You're going to observe a new Council Spectre. She's an asari and Councilor Tevos asked the Alliance if we could use you considering that this new Spectre doesn't like humans. She thought it would be good for her if she got over her dislike for humans. They just don't want another Saren. They're more focused on having Spectres that represent all species, not just their own."

"Oh, this is gonna go just great," more sarcasm came through as Rex had just became less excited about this mission. She crossed her arms, leaning to her right, tilting her head, "Why did they make her a Spectre if she didn't fit all the qualifications, such as being able to deal with all races."

"Because of her skills. She's not just good. She's damn good," he replied. James went silent for a moment and then let out a small laugh as a thought slipped through his head.

Rex dropped her arms to her side and looked more serious, "What's so damn funny?"

"I was just thinking. My old CO used to tell me about how xenophobic your mother used to be and now you're about to go help an asari get over her xenophobia. It's ironic."

"I'm glad this humors you, Admiral," Rex shook her head.

* * *

James and Rex exited the elevator that took them up the Citadel tower, walking into the Council Chambers. They walked to the end of the platform that stood in front of the Councilors. There were five of them now, Human, Turian, Asari, Salarian, and now Krogan. After allying with the Turians, once enemies, and not starting a war over the bomb on Tuchanka proved to the Council that the Krogan were worthy to serve with them. Bakara, Wrex's wife in human terms, took the spot as the Krogan councilor. The Krogan chose her because she gave a new voice for her people and essentially played a huge role in ending the Genophage.

A new human had been after the betrayal and death of Udina. Marshall Nixon was much younger than Udina, but he was a Colonel serving in the Alliance during Reaper War. He stood at six feet and had dirty blonde hair in a military cut. He had a long service record, but his commanding officers had always known him to be the one to solve matters peacefully which is how his name came up for recommendation when choosing a new human councilor.

An asari decked out in the newest blue armor set designed by Rosenkov was standing on the platform, waiting on the two Alliance officers with her arms crossed. The pigmentation of her skin was steel blue and her eyes were a midnight blue. She had eyebrow markings as well as red facial marking tattoos that outlined her eye sockets with a thin line along with two lines that ran down both cheeks. James thought that they reminded him of Shepard's facial scars.

"I assume this is who is to oversee my operations," the asari said, already visibly annoyed that it would be an Alliance soldier coming to babysit her.

"Yes, this is Commander Alex Williams," Councilor Tevos replied, "She will be there to make sure everything goes smoothly."

Rex walked up to her and held her hand out to shake, "Hi. My name is Alex, but everyone calls me Rex. I would prefer it if you did as well, or just Williams."

The asari looked down at her hand and then back up at the human as she was much shorter. She narrowed her eyes before she spoke, "Kota. That's all you may call me. I know what I'm doing, so just stay out of my way and things will go as they are supposed to." Kota didn't bother shaking her hand. She just passed by the two humans, exiting the chambers.

"That went well," James said as he watched her leave. Rex was utterly shocked at the rudeness of the woman that it took her a moment to put her hand back by her side.

"This is going to be just so frickin fun," Rex said with a frown. She wanted to be more explicit with her language.

"I apologize for that, Commander," Tevos began, "This is why we have asked that you go with her. She has many strong beliefs in humans. You are the only human Spectre with no mission or operations at the moment. Hopefully, you will be able to get her to see things differently."

"After the humans defeated the Reapers, it's still hard to believe there are those out there who still hate us," Nixon chimed in. He may have had the ability to resolve things peacefully, but he still had strong beliefs about others himself.

"We all defeated them together, Nixon," Bakara interjected, "Not just the humans."

"Yes, let us not forget that," Valern said in agreement as Sparatus just shook his head, not saying anything.

"The Reapers have not been the purpose of any of our meetings for decades and they are not the purpose of this one right now," said Tevos as she had to get everyone back on topic, as usual, "Commander Williams, we will expect you to report back her as soon as the mission has been completed."

Rex nodded to the asari councilor, "Yes ma'am. I'll make sure she does her job." With that, Rex and James turned and exited the chambers. She already knew it was going to be a rough next couple of days having to work with someone who already didn't get along with her.

_**That's it for now. Will hopefully have more up soon. Let me know what your thoughts are!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The shuttle had just passed through the relay, entering the Artemis Tau cluster. Kota sat across from Rex with her arms crossed, leaning against the back of her seat, her eyes closed. Rex had tried to ask the asari more about herself, but all of her inquiries had been deflected or stated to be classified information. The human had just wanted to know a little more about the new Spectre before she went into fire with her.

"We're almost to the coordinates," Rex said as she stood and placed her helmet on. She secured it and checked all of her weapons. She was a soldier through and through, so she had a full set of weapons.

Kota opened her eyes and looked up at the human. She was a biotic just as any other asari, so she only took a few weapons of her choice. She preferred a heavy pistol, shotgun, and SMG. Kota had nothing to say to the human as she rose and made sure her heat sink was in place in her SMG.

As they came closer to their coordinates, something quite large became visible on the screens inside the shuttle. "Damn, what the hell is that?" Rex looked at the feed, narrowing her eyes. The shuttle pilot turned a spotlight on for them to get a better view of the object. When it became visible under the light, both the human's and asari's eyes widened. "Is that..."

"A Reaper," Kota finished Rex's sentence, "It looks dead. But how?"

"Sensors aren't reading any mass effect fields," the shuttle pilot said, "Has to be dead."

Rex just shook her head, "Who would do this?" After the crucible fired, organics had been connected with synthetics, even Reapers. So, it wasn't unusual for organics to feel empathy for damaged or dead synthetics. They were practically one of them now.

"People who hate Reapers. Who do you think?" Kota shot Rex a scowl. "You think just because they helped rebuild people won't want revenge for what they did. They killed millions. You can't get life back. Personally, if I had it my way, they'd all be dead."

"Hmph, bet you feel the same way about humans too, right?" Rex returned the angered look through her visor. This made Kota change her expression. Now she looked confused. "The council thinks you're a human hater. That's why they sent me with you."

Kota rolled her eyes and shook her head, "No. I don't hate humans. I hate partners. It just so happens that every person I have been partnered up with has been human. I work better alone. Goddess, I've been made out to look like some xenophobe. This is just great."

"Whatever. Let's board that thing and find out what happened here."

"Right," Kota said with a nod before placing her breather over her mouth and nose.

The shuttle pilot found a large hole in the hull of the Reaper and landed inside. Rex and Kota stepped out of the vehicle and drew pistols as they began their search for answers.

"Whoever attacked this thing must have had some serious firepower. From what I heard, it takes an entire fleet to take one of these things down," Rex stated as she scanned through the area.

"Yes, but now we have information and tactics from civilizations before us. Like the ones who made these things. Damned Leviathan." Kota put away her pistol as she knelt down, finding a datapad. "What's this?" She began reading it. It was a personal journal from someone who was there.

"You got something?" Rex walked over to her partner, if she could even be considered that.

"Some kind of journal. Whoever was here wanted data on the Reapers' main weapons."

"You mean like the things that I call the big red lasers of death?" Rex wasn't all for high tech science talk. She was just a soldier.

Kota nodded, "Yes, they wanted to know how they worked, how to build them."

"Whoa, that's not good. That's a powerful weapon. Does it say who they worked for?"

The asari shook her head, "No. It looks like this datapad was damaged. I'll hold onto it. The Council will want to see it. We should look around more. I suggest we split up to cover more ground."

"Haha, nice try," Rex smirked, "I'm here to observe you. You aren't getting rid of me that easily."

The asari let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine. This will just take twice the time."

The two Spectres continued on with their search for nearly three hours before coming up on a dead merc. He was human and took a shotgun blast apparently at point blank range because the whole front of his head was gone and his blood was splattered on the wall behind him. He was in heavy white armor with black and orange lines down the arm plates.

"Holy shit," Rex gasped, getting down on one knee to examine the body, pulling his arm up to see if his omnitool was still intact, and it was. She began skimming through the tool. "Well, well, we have omnitool data. Let's see. Ah, a recording." She opened the recording.

'I can't believe it. We just killed this thing. It actually made sounds as if in pain when we did. Can these things even feel pain? What we're doing is right, isn't it? I mean, these things nearly killed everyone in the galaxy. Now we're trying to figure out their own weapons to use them against the Reapers to wipe them out. We're dismantling the main weapon to take it back to the lab. I mean they helped us in the end. I really shouldn't question it. I don't want to be turned into one of those husk looking things. Better follow orders. Sometimes I can understand why Cerberus was nearly wiped out by-huh? Sir, I was just-ARGH!'

"Cerberus," Kota said, "I thought they were wiped out. They've been gone for almost a century now."

"The Illusive Man was killed. Doesn't mean they could have retreated and a new leader took position," Rex replied as she copied and saved the recording on her own omnitool.

"So they took the main gun from this thing and took it with them. Where could they have gone?" Kota rubbed her chin in thought.

"I'd say the Terminus systems, away from the Council and Alliance. Maybe on some uncolonized world where they won't be noticed. I think we got what we came here for. We should get back to the Citadel."

"Yeah, and it only took us...oh yeah, a lot longer than it would have if you had just let me work on one half while you on the other," Kota said with sarcasm.

"Hey, you gotta learn how to work as a team sometimes," Rex turned to her speaking sternly, pointing her finger at Kota, "You're a Spectre now, not a lone wolf. You don't always get what you want. It's not all about you. It's about working with and helping others. Get used to it."

* * *

The ride back had been silent aside from the sound coming from the engines of the shuttle. Kota had been pondering Rex's words before. The human compared her to a wolf? She understood their culture for the most part, but some of their sayings still made no sense to her. How could she compare her to some furry beast? Asari didn't have any fur or hair. They were more like sea creatures.

Rex broke the silence by asking, "So where are you from?" The human was attempting to learn about the new Spectre again.

"Why does that concern you?" Kota opened her eyes glaring at Rex.

"Come on, I just want to know at least a little about you."

"The mission is over. It doesn't matter," she replied, closing her blue eyes.

With an exasperated sigh, Rex decided to tell her about herself. "I was born on Earth. My mother is Ashley Williams. She served under Commander Shepard during the Reaper War. She's a General now, but she hates being called General Williams because my great granddad surrendered the Shanxi garrison to the Turians in the First Contact. I don't know my dad, but from what Mom says, he was a real jackass. We moved around a lot, ship to ship. Military life. I entered the Alliance when-"

"Why did you call me a wolf?" Kota interrupted. She didn't want to hear Rex's life story.

Rex just blinked, "Excuse me?"

"You said I was a lone wolf. What does that mean?"

"Uh, a lone wolf is someone who secludes themselves from others and refuses to accept help from the outside. It's a human term."

"I see. Fine. I was also born on Earth, a year after the war. My mother and I left when the relays were rebuilt and lived on Thessia. I was still very young then. That's all you are deserved."

"Who was your dad?" Rex wanted to know more.

"Like you, I don't know. Besides, I just said that's all you're getting." Kota closed her eyes again.

Rex shook her head sighing, "Fine."

* * *

Once back on the Citadel, Kota and Rex reported back to the Council immediately. James was there as well, waiting on them. "Find anything out," he asked.

Rex looked at him and then the Council. "Yeah, and it's not good. Kota?"

The asari Spectre looked up at the Council and put her hands behind her back straightening her stance to look more professional. "We found evidence that suggest Cerberus has re-arisen. What we came upon was a dead Reaper. They killed it, by what means is unknown. But they also dismantled its main weapon. They want to know what makes the Reapers tick, and they want to use it to wipe them out completely." Rex just nodded in agreement.

"Cerberus?" James was in complete shock. "How is that possible. The Illusive Man was on the Citadel with Anderson and Shepard when the Crucible fired. The Alliance took his body."

"We have a recording that says it was Cerberus, sir," Rex said as she brought up the recording on her omnitool and played it for them all.

"Christ," escaped Nixon's lips as he put his hand to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"If I may just say, if they want to destroy the Reapers, why stop them," Kota added.

"We can't let that kind of weapon fall into the hands of the wrong people," Sparatus replied, "Especially Cerberus. It could spell disaster for all aliens and humans who opposed them."

Bakara took a step forward, "Besides, the Reapers helped us rebuild everything. We don't know why, but they did."

"Are there any clues as to where they took that weapon?" asked Valern.

"Unfortunately no," said Rex, "But if I wanted to get away from prying eyes, I would go the Terminus."

"Well if that's the case, you know we can't send fleets out there," the admiral said, "But a small team..."

"To investigate the matter will be adequate," Nixon finished what James was going to say, "One ship."

"Understood, I can find a ship within the Asari military to-" Kota began, but Tevos cut her off.

"No. We will put Williams on this," Tevos said.

"What?" Kota retorted, "This is my mission."

Sparatus' mandibles twitched as he was annoyed that the new Spectre was acting like a child even though by asari standard she still was, being the age of ninety nine. "Commander Williams has more experience."

Nixon looked at the other council members who nodded to him as if they were hiding something. "Williams, we have been waiting to reward you with this for some time, but this situation calls for us to give it to you now." This caused the human Spectre to give the Councilors a look of confusion. "You have been one of our most successful Spectres since Commander Shepard. You have an impressive service record. We want to give you a ship to help you on your mission."

"Really? My own ship?" Rex's eyes lit up, glowing green. She was unable to mask her excitement. The human looked like a child in a candy store.

* * *

Hours later, Rex was relaxing in a hotel room in the Wards. She could have gotten one in the Prisidium, but she thought spending that many credits on a place to just sleep was ridiculous. She was in more comfortable clothing now, wearing some gym shorts and a white N7 tank top. At the moment, she was on a vid call with her mom. "And then, here's the really cool part. I get my own ship. Full crew and everything," Rex said, still sounding like a teenager to her mother.

"Wow, that's amazing. Congratulations, sweetheart," Ash said, smiling. Her smile went away, though. She was happy for her daughter, but the thought that she would chasing after Cerberus made her worry. "Just...be careful. Cerberus...they've done horrible things to get what they want."

"I'll take them out," Rex said confidently.

Ash's smile returned, "You sound like one of my old COs. So, what's the ship's name?" It was true. Rex reminded Ash of Shepard in more ways than one. Except that Rex was very much a free spirit and always easily excited. However, when it came down to work, Rex could be a real hardass.

"Ah, it doesn't have one, yet. They want me to name it. I was thinking Normandy, SR-3," Rex said with a grin.

"Normandy? Why?"

"Oh come on mom, what Alliance soldier doesn't want to serve on a ship called the Normandy, the ship commanded by the great Commander Shepard? It's like my dream. Besides, it has a lot of the same designs. Looks a lot like it, except more advanced."

"And here I thought it couldn't get anymore advanced than the SR-2. Hope you have a good pilot. There's only one pilot I know that can handle a ship like that and he's retired now," Ash said, a beeping sound coming from behind her, "Ah, crap. Work calls, sweety. Congrats and good luck on your mission. Make me proud."

"Don't worry Mom, I won't go surrendering a garrison anytime soon."

"Haha, better not."

**_Well I decided I would go ahead and put the next part up tonight while I still had time before work. Enjoy_!**


	3. Chapter 3

**2286**

_**Hey everyone! Just wanted to say thanks for the reviews, follows, and favs so far. I hope I can make this something everyone will enjoy. I'm having a great time writing it. By the way, if anyone has any ideas or maybe something they would like to see, just let me know and I'll consider it. Thanks again for reading!**_

**Chapter 3**

In galactic time, it was getting late, but that meant nothing to the people residing on Omega. Afterlife was a galore of thumping hard music and flashing lights for the 'entertainment' to dance to. It had been a century since Shepard helped Aria take the hunk of rock back from the Illusive Man's hands, but things were still the same. There may have been a lot of security upgrades, but the Queen was still kicking, therefore, there was still only one rule on Omega. Even now, people would try hard to break that rule and eventually suffer the consequences.

Down in the main section of the club that Aria's 'office' looked over, someone was causing a stir. A drunk turian to be exact. He was leaning over putting a pointy finger in the face of the batarian bartender. "You're tryin' to poison' me with somethin' I can't drink," his words slurred as he shouted, "I oughta have you arrested!" He had a slight accent, but most words that came out weren't too distinguishable due to his state of intoxication.

The batarian just shook his head, all the eyes on his face narrowing in annoyment. "You idiot, this is Omega. People don't just get arrested because you say so. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. It's not my fault you don't know how much you can handle! Now get the hell off my bar and go bother someone else with your nonsense, you scaly bastard!"

The turian scrunched the brow plates of his face together and his mandibles stretched out as far as they would go, which wasn't much, but enough to show he was pissed. "I'll show you!" He shouted before producing a pistol from his side and fired a few rounds into the air.

"Shit! Security!" shouted the bartender as he ducked down behind the bar, wide-eyed. All hell broke loose as the gunfire ripped through the air. Suddenly Aria's guards came running down from her lair, guns drawn on the armed turian.

"I'm giving you one chance to drop the weapon, you idiot," Anto shouted as he put his finger on the trigger of his assault rifle, "Any hesitations, arguments, or movements, and I will kill you here on spot!"

Suddenly, the turian realized just how drunk he was. He was drunk, not stupid, and he knew that people would kill you on Omega without giving it a second thought. The gun slipped from his hand and hit the floor in an instant. His golden eyes were wide with surprise. "H-hey man, I-I was just tryin' to enjoy myself. N-no need to point that thing at me."

"Hmph," Anto let out as he put his gun onto his back, walking over and grabbing the guy's hands, "You should have thought about that before you pointed yours!" He jerked and shoved him to the exit of the club. "Now get the hell off Aria's station!"

A series of drunken noises came from the turian as he was kicked out of the club. He stumbled his way out towards the transport hub of Omega to catch a ride out, but before he got there, two well armed human males in black and orange armor bumped into him, blocking his way. "Your name Han," one of them inquired.

He nearly fell over as he smacked into them. It was almost as if they had meant to. He scowled at them. "Yeah, what's it to ya," he replied, giving his interrogator a quick shove. With that, the other guy used the butt of his rifle and slammed it into Han's face hard enough to send him to the ground unconscious. The two men picked him up with each other's help and carried him to their own shuttle. None of the bystanders said anything, nor tried to stop it from happening. It was Omega after all. Maybe the guy had a bounty on his head. There was plenty of that to go around here.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Citadel, Commander Williams had just finished packing her stuff and was making her way to the docks to board her newly acquired ship. She of course decided to call it by what this ships two predecessor designs had been called. It was a dream of hers to have her own Normandy. The SR-2 had been decommissioned just before she was born. After Shepard's death, it had gone on many tours, mainly to just show off and to keep track of the Mass Relay restorations. Once it was shut down, Joker decided his time was up with the military. He and EDI took off to some remote unknown location. Now the famed warship sat on Earth in Vancouver as practically a museum for people to walk in and look around. Rex remembers when Ash took her to see the ship. She loved hearing all the stories about it. Though, the best war stories always came from Wrex, she thought.

As she walked the docking tube to the entrance of her ship, Rex noticed a surprise visitor standing there waiting for her. "Kota," she said plainly, "What are you doing here?"

The asari Spectre turned to face Rex with her arms crossed over her chest. She leaned onto her right leg before she spoke, "I'm here to take my mission back."

"I'm sorry, but this isn't your mission to take," Rex replied, furrowing her brows. Who did this asari think she was? She couldn't just waltz in and steal someone's assignments out from under them. "Look, you have to earn your way up to this. You don't just get something because you demand it."

"Then I'm coming with you," Kota shot back, "I have to make sure you don't screw this up. This was mine to begin with, so I'm going to see that I finish it."

Rex took a step back, raising a brow. "I thought you liked to work alone."

"I suppose I will have to deal with working with you for now. Just until this problem is sorted out."

"Fine," Rex let out with a sigh, "Pack your things and get onboard."

"Already done."

"Then why did we even have this conversation?" Rex huffed as the doors to the vessel opened. She walked in and Kota followed closely behind her, but diverted to her own quarters once inside.

* * *

The outside design of the Normandy SR-3 was much like its parent before. It was hard to advance on a warship that was already so far ahead for its time, but some improvements had been made. The two rudders on the back end were no longer present. Instead they had been replace with a fifth booster, giving the vessel some extra percentage on speed. This of course called for more drive core power. It had two of them, one was the same size of the previous ship, the other was about half the size and located on the deck below it. The extra speed was only meant for emergency situations. The hull was a bit bigger than the SR-2, allowing for six decks. The top deck was where extra ammo and artillery were kept, almost like the attic. Half of the second deck provided rooms for permanent squad members or temporary guests aboard the Normandy. It included a small lounge for relaxation and entertainment while in downtime, and it came equipped with a mini bar. The other half was the most advanced infirmary money could buy. The captain's cabin was located on the third floor along with the CIC, the comm room, the cockpit, and main entrance. It had been thought to be more efficient for the commanding officer's quarters to be on the same floor of the CIC in case of emergency. This didn't mean the captain couldn't get the privacy he or she needed though. The room had been equipped to keep noise out and to keep noise from escaping. It also had a back entrance from the comm room since they connected with each other. So, if anyone needed to discuss something privately with the captain and didn't want anyone to notice them, they could do so by entering the comm room instead. The galaxy map was still in the same place as was the elevator behind it. When standing in front of the elevator, facing the galaxy map, the captain's cabin was directly to the right. On the previous Normandy, this would have been where the entrance to the war room was. To the left was the entrance to the comm room. The comm room was big enough it could also be used for squad and crew meetings. The fourth deck comprised of crew member bunks, the mess hall, and the main gun battery. The fifth floor where the main drive core was nestled in the back, along with two extra rooms for housing or whatever they needed to be on either side. Lastly, the bottom deck was the cargo bay, along with the smaller extra drive core place in the rear.

Kota made her way to the rear of deck three, entering the elevator to go to deck two. Rex, ahead of her, had gone into her cabin at the same time the asari was entering the elevator. Kota glanced at Rex before the human went to her room, letting out a small annoyed huff. Rex shook it off once she entered her room and the door sealed.

She really liked her cabin. It wasn't just Alliance made. The council worked on this too, and she could tell by the design. The right wall had a large glass encasing running almost to the back wall for various things, whatever she wanted to put there. For example, trophies, medals, models, etc. Before this reached the back wall, there was the door that went to the comm room. Below the encasing was a large comfy bed with the head against the wall. The left wall on the previous Normandy had a large fish tank. This one had a screen across the whole wall to display anything the captain wanted. The back wall was basically bare, but had a long desk built into it for the captain's work area and various other things. Directly to the left of the entrance was the restroom and shower.

Rex walked to the bed and sat the rest of her belongings on it before plopping down on it herself. Moving all her stuff from one place to another could be tiring, so she was hoping she would be able to keep this ship for a while. She relaxed for a moment, taking in her surroundings before getting back up to put the rest of her stuff away. Once she finished, Rex decided she should go around to meet the rest of her crew. She just hoped it would be easier getting to know them a bit than it was trying to pry it from Kota.

Exiting her quarters, Rex noticed a very tall man standing to the right of galaxy map working on a terminal. His hair was a light brown and his skin had a slight tan. He obviously heard her footsteps as she approached him because he stopped working and turned to look at her with hazel eyes. He saluted her. "Officer on deck," he said sternly, others within earshot stopped their work and turned to salute as well.

"At ease," Rex replied and everyone except the tall man went back about their business. She looked up at the tall figure. "No need to be so formal. I know this is a military vessel, but I'm pretty laid back."

"Yes ma'am. I will note that for future reference," he said back. The guy had quite a strong accent. "I suppose you came for me to introduce myself. I am Sergeant Venz Maslov."

"Nice to meet you Venz," Rex said as she held her hand out. The Sergeant nodded and took her hand, shaking it. "You can just call me Williams or Rex. So what do you do here?"

"Well, I'm here to keep tasks in order and let you know if anything new comes up," he said, not sounding very enthusiastic about it.

Rex gave him a concerned look, "You don't sound very happy with your job, Sergeant."

Venz's hands came up in defense, "Uh, no, no. It's not like that. I just...well, I guess you could say I'm not too excited to be a book keeper. I would just like to see a little action every now and then, if you understand." He rubbed the back of his head nervously, hoping he just didn't make a complete fool out of himself.

"Ah, I get it. You're bored," she said with a smirk, "Well, if that's the case, what are your skills? Perhaps I could use you on the field. I just need to know you aren't gonna run out and get yourself killed on the first mission."

He gave her a nod. "I don't have quite an impressive kill record, but that's mostly because I haven't had a lot of field time. I'm always stuck at some desk. I know a lot about guns and how to best equip them with new upgrades. I'm also great at making repairs to just about anything, vehicles, armor, weapons, etc."

Rex put a hand on her chin, thinking. "Hm, so you're kinda like a Jack of all trades. Well, considering your lack of field time, I might not take you out too much. We'll just have to start you slow and see what you can manage. Sound good?"

"Hell, that's more than what my previous CO gave me. I'm not looking to be the next Shepard. I just get so damn bored sometimes. Thank you, Commander."

"Sure. So, tell me more about yourself."

"Well, I'm forty years old," he started. He didn't look it, but then again, Rex didn't look fifty. "I was born and raised on Earth ten years after the final restorations were complete. Russia to be specific. Before I wasn't too big on the military. I just took up little odd jobs, mainly as a repair man. Then I became a cop. Got a real tast for procedure during that time. I joined up with the Alliance about three years back. I suppose I've enjoyed it so far."

"Good. I hope you will enjoy your time serving on this ship," Rex said, "Nice talking to you, Venz. I should go.

"Anytime, Rex," he replied with a nod before turning back and getting back to work.

The Commander turned and stepped onto the elevator going down one floor. There wasn't anyone to talk to on the two floors above except Kota and she knew she wasn't going to get anymore information out of her for the time being. Rex stepped out of the elevator onto deck four. She went around, talking to different crew members, introducing herself. Everyone there seemed to be happy to serve under her. Then she took the elevator to the next floor down.

When she stepped out she saw someone working on a console in front of the large drive core. She began walking closer, noticing their whole head was white, and not just pale, but really white. It had no indication of being human skin. Rex stepped right up behind them. Was that glowing blue wires coming from their neck?

Upon sensing someone behind them, the figure instantly spun around. Suddenly a Husk was saluting the Commander. Rex stumbled backwards, completely startled by the sight, her hands going up to shield her face as if the Husk would do anything. "Ah!" is was she let out as she backed away.

The Husk let his hand down and looked down at the ground, shaking his head. "S-sorry, Commander," he said, sounding sad, "I-I didn't mean to scare you."

"Uh," Rex tried to gather herself and find words, "A-are you a crew member?"

The Husk looked back up and nodded, "Yes, Commander. Chief Engineer Huskins. And no the name is not a made up pun. It's my real name."

"But you're a Husk," she said, "How is that possible?"

"When the Crucible fired on that fateful day," he started as he turned back to his work, "all the people turned into monsters by the Reapers got their minds back."

"I have never seen a Husk or any of the other things before," she replied, "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. It's just surprising."

Huskins looked down at it hands in sorrow, "That's because many of us could not stand the thought of being stuck like this. Many took their own lives or went into isolated hiding. Everyone still looks at us as creatures or monsters. Not many stop to think that we were like them once. I was an Alliance soldier before this happened to me. I decided to accept my fate. I still have a job to do here. You don't have to worry about me interacting with the rest of the crew. I normally stay by myself. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my work, Commander."

Rex didn't know what to think of everything the crew member had just said to her. She just nodded her head, "Carry on." She felt incredibly bad for the guy and how she had reacted towards his appearance. Perhaps she would leave him alone for the moment and come back later after she had processed her thoughts. She turned and went back to the elevator.

Not many people were down in the cargo bay. There was just a requisitions officer and another engineer to keep an eye on the other drive core. So, Rex made her way back to the CIC. The next person she intended to meet was the pilot of her ship. Once back at deck three, Rex marched her way up to the cockpit. Getting closer to the door, she could her the thumping of music. The cockpit door slid open and the blare of music would have knocked the soldier off her feet if it were a biotic shockwave. It wasn't music she had recognized from this time and age. Maybe it was something indie or from a different age.

She walked to the pilot's seat with her hands over her ears and shouted, "HEY! TURN THAT OFF!"

Instantly, the music ceased to play and the pilot who had been bouncing and nodding her head to the beat turned her seat around. She had long crimson hair that had been pulled back into a pony tail. Her eyes were bright green, almost glowing, and her skin pale. "Hey, Commander. I was wondering when you'd get up here to see me," she greeted, closing her eyes as she smiled big.

"And you are..."

"Your pilot. You can just call me Ivy."

"Your rank-"

"It doesn't matter Commander. Trust me. I can fly this ship through anything," she said turning her seat back around to face the front, "Other than that, I could be your 20th and 21st century hip hop expert."

Rex just blinked. "Uh, what?"

Ivy let out a chuckled and grinned. "I like ages old music. I even installed a really old subwoofer system into the walls of the cockpit. Runs off a basic amplifier and stereo too."

"Wait, you did what?"

"Relax, I've detected that it improves my functions by sixty five percent," she replied, "I'll only send us into a black hole if I'm listening to 'Lose Yourself.'" This only granted silence from Rex. "Um, that's a joke."

"Right." Rex didn't know what to make of her pilot and her rugged sense of humor. She also seemed quite hyper. The commander hoped this wouldn't be a big issue. "I should go."

"See ya. Come back soon."

Williams walked away, back towards the galaxy map, scratching the back of her head. She thought she had a strange crew. Venz looked at the commander as she came closer. "Commander, we are receiving a dispatch from Rannoch. It's about an abduction of someone on Omega."

"So, why don't we go to Omega?"

"The parents of the abductee would like to speak to you first."

"Alright," Rex sighed. She was supposed to be worrying about Cerberus, not some random Quarian getting abducted on their Pilgrimage because they thought they could handle Omega. Still, she didn't have further information on Cerberus yet, so it couldn't hurt to help someone in need. She stepped up to the platform of the galaxy map. "Ivy, take us to the Quarian home world."

"You got it, Commander."

_**Ok, well, here's another chapter. Wow, a Husk is working in engineering. That is all. Haha.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**2286**

**Chapter 4**

The Normandy detached from the dock and backed its way out from the bay of the Citadel before turning and blasting off into space. As Ivy brought the ship towards the Charon relay near Pluto, the core shot out what looked like a lightning bolt to the ship, pulling it parallel to the relay itself. In an instant, the Normandy was slung off towards the Perseus Veil cluster. Once they were in transit, Ivy just sat back and yawned in boredom. "We'll be there in about three hours."

Kota had actually come down from her room a few minutes before leaving, now standing behind Ivy's left shoulder. "Sounds good. Did you know we have a Husk in the engine core?" The asari had heard about it from other crew members and she thought it was very strange.

"Ah, yeah. He's not really a bad guy. I feel bad for him," Ivy stated, "Suddenly a green light hits you and you're this...zombie looking thing. As he said, all the Husks got their minds and memories back when it happened. He thinks he should show some kinda honor towards Commander Shepard by serving. I woulda put a bullet in my head. Makes me wonder what the Banshees thought when they woke up."

The Spectre shuddered at the thought. "They were already Ardat-Yakshi," she said coldly, "Realizing you've been turned into something even more hideous...there's no way any of them are still alive...honor doesn't matter at that point." Kota went silent in thought. She wondered what had happened that day on the Citadel. She had no idea what it could have been like for those in the war since she was born after the fact. She did remember seeing a great deal of the aftermath as a child. The destruction was immense. What did Shepard do to make the Reapers suddenly stop and help rebuild instead? Wasn't the Crucible meant to destroy them? She turned to walk back towards the CIC.

Rex was coming out of her cabin with a mug of coffee when she saw Kota. "Settling in well," she asked before sipping the hot liquid.

The asari shot her a glare. "Yes, quite. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be taking a nap in my quarters before our assignment." She took a step towards the elevator, but Rex held a hand out to stop her.

The human was done with Kota's attitude. "Let's get something straight. I'm the commanding officer of this vessel. This is my ship. You're on my ship. That means I'm your commanding officer, Spectre or not. You will show me the same amount of respect as everyone else. You don't have to like me and we don't have to know shit about each other, but you will respect me and follow my orders if you want to stay on this ship. Are we clear?" Venz, who was behind them, seemed to freeze in place as he could hear everything that was being said. He was thinking that he didn't want to get on the Commander's bad side.

"Very," Kota replied. The commander stepped back out of her way and she got on the elevator taking it up.

* * *

In a few hours, the Normady entered into the Veil and began the rest of its course to Rannoch within the Tikkun system. Upon approaching the planet the ship's sensors picked up many heat signatures. This was because numerous ships orbited the planet, both Quarian and Geth. With the help and alliance of the Geth, the Quarians had been able to retake their home world. It took years, but believe it or not, the two races were able to coexist with each other peacefully. Like the Reapers who had helped everyone rebuild what they had destroyed, the Geth helped the Quarians rebuild their life on Rannoch. It meant not being trapped in envrio-suits for their entire lives.

After being granted access, the ship entered the planet's atmosphere soaring over many cliffs before it came into port. Rex and Kota stepped out and were greeted by a Geth. "Welcome to Rannoch, Spectres," it said in a electronic voice, "Do you require navigational assistance?"

Rex looked at the Geth and said, "Um, we are here to speak with the parents of a missing Quarian who was abducted on Omega."

The Geth shook its flashlight looking head, "No current reports of missing Quarian from this system. However, the report of a missing turian seems to match. I can take you to the party requesting assistance in this matter if you wish."

Kota and Rex glanced at each other, both looking equally confused. Rex just shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Please, follow me to the transportation services," the Geth said as it walked away. Rex and Kota followed suit. The Geth took them to a cab and punched in the coordinates of their destination, sending them off.

* * *

The cab took them off to a more remote location away from the city. They came up onto a cliff that overlooked many others. The cab landed outside a mid-sized home that had been built on the cliff. Rex stepped out, walking towards the front entrance, Kota following closely behind. The human looked around and pushed a holographic button on the door. A scratchy male voice came over the speaker above them. "What's your business?"

Rex stepped back and looked up at the speaker as if a camera were there, too. "I've come to investigate your kid's disappearance." With that the door unlocked and slid opened and a female quarian on the other side greeted them. Her skin was pale, her eyes glowing white. Two lines were on her forehead that came up from the mid brow. She had long black hair. Quarians looked a lot like humans aside from their hands, eyes, and feet.

"Keelah, we were wondering if they would send anyone at all," she said, "Come in."

The two Spectres walked inside the house, the door closing behind them. "Thank you," Rex said, holding her hand out, "I'm Commander Rex Williams."

The male who had been speaking to them on the speaker came down some stairs, he was turian. The right side of his face had bad scarring and there were blue markings across his face. "Well, I'll be damned. They didn't just send anyone. They sent a Williams," he said.

Rex blinked, thinking for a moment, but suddenly realized who's house she was standing in. "Wait a second. H-holy shit. You're Tali and Garrus!"

Tali chuckled a bit, shaking Rex's hand. "Yes, it's good to meet you Rex. I remember when you were just a baby. Now look at you. You're all grown up. Keelah, I can't believe it has been so long. The whole crew has drifted so far apart we don't even speak anymore."

"Well, Shepard is what held us together like glue in the first place," Garrus added, "After she was gone, things just weren't the same anymore. At least the Reapers aren't destroying everything anymore. Still, it sometimes seems like it was at a great price."

Tali guided them into their living room which looked quite luxurious. It was doused in warm colors, a mantle on the main wall with a small rock sitting in the center of it. It was something Tali guarded with her life like it was a piece of Shepard. Everyone sat down, Tali and Garrus next to each other on a couch, Kota and Rex sitting opposite from each other it adjacent chairs.

"Tell me about it," Rex said, "The only one of you guys I really know is Uncle Wrex."

Garrus laughed at the thought of Wrex being a role model to a human. "How is Wrex by the way?"

"Still kicking, and kicking hard," the human replied.

"So, is this your girlfriend," Tali asked motioning towards Kota. This made Rex's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.

"Goddess no," Kota said turning her head away, almost seeming insulted by such a question, "Just working with her. We're both Spectres."

The strong reaction made Tali laugh, but then she looked down. "Sorry, the two of you reminded me of Shepard and Liara."

Garrus shook his head looking down as well. "Poor Liara never seemed to recover from losing Shepard. She had already lost her once. After we finally made it back to Earth, she focused on nothing but helping rebuild. We know she stayed on Earth for about two or three years, but even then she kept herself away from us. I think being around us reminded her too much of Shepard. Then suddenly, it was like she vanished from existence. We haven't heard from her since."

"I'm sorry," Rex said, "I can't imagine how that must have been."

Tali shook her head, "Things happen for a reason. I just wish ending the war didn't come at the cost of Shepard's life. Anyways, you're not here to sit and listen to us ramble on about the past." She nudged the turian next to her in the side with her elbow.

"Ah, right. Our son, Han, left Rannoch a few weeks ago. The three of us had an argument and he ran off. Said he was going to Omega," Garrus shook his head as he remembered the trouble he had gotten himself into on the hell hole when he was there, hoping his son hadn't done the same.

"So he ran away," Kota asked.

Tali tilted her head to the side, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, "Well, I wouldn't say that. He's an adult. He can do what he wants. After his Pilgrimage, he decided to stay here. He wanted to be close to family."

"Excuse me for interrupting," Rex interjected, "And I also apologize if this sounds rude, but the Geth said we were looking for a turian, not a quarian. Um, how exactly did that work?"

Garrus let out a small laugh, "It doesn't work like that. We adopted him when he was merely a teenager. He had lost his real parents to the Reapers on Palaven. Like Tali said, he's well into the adult stages of his life...well, if there even is an adult stage now."

"How do you know he was abducted if he just took off to Omega," Kota looked at the two of them.

The turian looked over to Tali, who made a movement of her head that if her eyes had color, you could see her rolling them. "Being the overprotective mother I am," she started, "I put a tracker in his omnitool. It showed him leaving Omega two days ago. The signal goes from place to place in the Terminus. Then it just disappears." She had brought up a mini galaxy map with her omnitool, showing them the coordinates.

Kota furrowed her brows, looking over to Rex, "Isn't that where you said we would probably find-"

Rex looked back at her shaking her head, "That's classified information. We can't talk about that."

The asari scowled at the human, "But what if they're connected?"

Garrus cocked his head towards the two Spectres, "Whatever you're talking about, it doesn't sound good. Spill. Trust us, we won't go telling the Council you said anything. I think we have the right to know if it involves our son."

The commander sighed, sitting forward with her elbows on her knees, wringing her hands, "We discovered a dead Reaper out in the Artemis Tau. It was killed and its main laser had been dismantled and taken to who knows where for study."

Tali raised an eyebrow, "A dead Reaper? Who could have done that? And what would they want with its main gun?"

"We found a recording that said Cerberus was there," Kota replied, "We don't know how they are still around, but the recording came from a dead soldier who was wearing what appeared to Cerberus armor."

"Keelah," Tali exclaimed, rising from her seat quickly, walking behind the couch as she began to pace back forth.

Garrus got up and walked to her putting his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, we don't know if that's who has Han. Maybe he just found out about the tracker and got rid of it. Don't start jumping to conclusions just yet." He put his hand beneath her chin and lifted her face up, giving her a reassuring nod. Tali just gulped and nodded back. Garrus looked to the two Spectres, "But if it is Cerberus, make sure my son is safe first, then do me a favor and blow their place to hell."

Rex got up from her seat and gave Garrus a quick salute, "I promise I will find your son, Mr. Vakarian. And it was an honor meeting the two of you. Thank you for your service to Earth and everyone else in the galaxy." Kota rose as well, nodding in accordance.

* * *

The two Spectres said their farewells to the turian and quarian before getting into their cab and taking it back to the city. Once out of the cab, they began walking back to the Normandy, but before they reached the entrance, Rex stopped, turned, and pointed her finger at Kota. "Don't ever do that again," she whispered through clenched teeth. She was able to keep her pissed off mood to herself for the rest of their visit to Tali and Garrus, and for the cab ride.

The asari stepped back, looking surprised at first, but her expression quickly changed to that of anger. "What the hell are you talking about," she snapped back.

"Don't ever try to bring up classified information like that," Rex scowled, "They may or may not be connected, but we don't know that yet! Now you've got two people worried sick over something that could be nothing! From now on, if you can't keep your mouth shut about certain things, stay on the ship." She turned to keep walking to the ship.

"Oh, you're really one to talk about respect when you can't even speak to me a respectful tone," the asari shouted back.

Rex stopped in her tracks and pivoted on her right foot, going back to Kota. "It doesn't feel so great, does it," she said, "Right now, after the lack of respect you've shown for me, you have to earn a respectful tone." The asari huffed as they both entered the Normandy.

The commander wondered if she and Kota would ever get along. Things were certainly not going well between them so far. The asari had a way of making her blood boil, but she was good at hiding her anger. She only showed it if it needed to be shown, such as situations like this. Even though the new Spectre pissed her off, she liked it in a strange way. Rex was normally able to get along with anyone, no matter who they were. People just liked being around her in general. This was different and she wasn't used to it, but that meant it was a challenge. One way or another, Rex was going to get Kota to like her enough to get along with her.

**Well, that's it for now. Hope I won't be too busy for the next few days like I am now. I've got a ton more to put out. Hope you guys enjoy! Reviews are very much welcomed!**


	5. Chapter 5

**2286**

**Chapter 5**

_**Hello everyone. I figured I give you guys a little bit of Liara for this chapter. Italicized text means flashbacks or thoughts, by the way.**_

Blue fingers rubbed two plates of cold metal back and forth against each other. One of the tags had the N7 insignia indented on it, and the other had Shepard's name and other information. Dr. T'soni had cherished the metal beads and tags around her neck with her life. She remembered when Admiral Hackett placed them in her trembling gloved hands. That was when the shock had finally hit her like a freight train. Liara had managed to keep her cool when placing Shepard's name on the Memorial Wall with Anderson's, but even then, it had taken everything in her to not just fall to her knees.

_The Normandy had just landed on a remote planet. Everyone on board was fine even though it was a bit of a rough landing, and to top it all off, the brilliant green light that had chased them through a relay jump seemed to have caused all systems to shut down besides EDI. It was going to take a while to get everything back up and running again. So, until then they would have to assess any outside damage since no systems were online to tell them anything._

_Joker got up from his seat, quite easily actually. He still walked with a bit of a limp, but in his mind, he felt fine. Maybe the limp had become more of a memory thing. He made his way to the hatch, EDI following closely behind him. Thankfully, EDI had been able to detect that the planet's atmosphere and surroundings were capable of sustaining life and there was plenty of oxygen and no poisonous gases, so no one was going to suffocate when Jeff opened the door. He and EDI both stepped out, looking around at the fauna of the foreign planet before looking at each other. EDI paused for a moment as she noticed Joker's eyes were not as they had always been, but said nothing. She only slid an arm around his back as his arm went around her shoulders._

_Liara stepped out behind them. Surprisingly, her ankle that had been sprained and the ribs she had cracked before Shepard forced her back to the Normandy felt completely fine now. She didn't know if it had been because of the green light or if the empty pit she was feeling in her stomach was masking the pain. _

It took two days before they finally managed to get systems back up and running, and just as they were about to leave, a message from Admiral Hackett came through. It was very distorted, but the words were clear enough to send Liara back into the dark hole Shepard had almost pulled her out from.

"_An-n-n-derson-…Illusi-si-sive Man dead…Shepa-ar-ar-ard…all…left…is her t-t-tags." _

_In an instant, Liara turned away, exiting the room. Ashley began to go for her, but the asari managed to make the door close in her face. She didn't want anyone's pity. She just wanted to be left alone._

_Then she had to put the plaque up. With everyone standing, waiting behind her, Liara looked down at the name in her hands, brushing a shaky palm over the lettering. Every step she took towards the wall felt as if she were walking to meet her own doom. Goddess how she didn't want to do this. The void that was inside her seemed to grow to an eternity when she pressed the steel plate onto the wall, her head dipping down. The tears were too much to hold back, a few of them escaping her cheeks, falling to the metal floor below. After taking a few breaths, she managed to push herself from the wall. Her plans were to stand there forever and stare at Shepard's name until someone literally pulled her away; however, she heard a faint throaty sob from someone behind her. It was female, but she could not discern it as being Ash, Tali, nor Traynor. Was that-? Liara turned to look over her left shoulder. Apparently everyone else had heard it as well. Tears were streaming down EDI's face just as they had been Liara's. In an instant, everyone had just about figured out what exactly the green ball of light did, and in an instant, Liara and EDI embraced each other in a sympathetic hug._

Coming back from her thoughts of the past, Liara sighed, looking at her console. She couldn't let it go. She didn't think she would ever be able to. With a few taps to her console, she brought up a few files. They were all the audio recordings that were salvageable from the Citadel from that day. Liara had already listened to them countless times, trying to make sense of it all. She couldn't even figure out just how Shepard managed to fire the Crucible. The last words the soldier had spoken were, "I don't see…I can't…" That was probably the hardest part to hear because after that, all she could hear was a body collapsing onto the surface. For some strange reason, the love of her life's tags were found near where the Crucible and Citadel connected, actually outside the station. She had also remembered just before the green light hit, a voice in her head that said, "Forgive me." Something just didn't add up in her mind and she wondered if she would ever figure it out.

After listening to the recordings over and over again for hours, Dr. T'soni yawned. She knew it was time to sleep. She shut down her console and then got up making her way to the bedroom. She slipped out of her usual clothes and into a black silk negligee before climbing into her bed beneath the blankets. The asari sighed before turning off her bedside light, "So much for always keeping your promises."

* * *

Everyone aboard the Normandy SR-3, besides Ivy and a few other crew members, was getting some rest while they travelled through the Terminus. The ship would send out wave pulses every now and then to see if anything would come back unusual. So far, nothing but the normal colonies and stations were coming up.

Laying on her bed, Kota was staring up at a datapad in her hands that contained a romantic novel. She was so into it that she didn't realize the door to her room had opened. She apparently forgot to set the lock on the console. The young asari must have also not realized she became sleepy in the middle of the story because the pad suddenly slipped from her hands. A girly squeak escaped her lips as it smacked her in the face making her wide awake. A hysterical laugh was heard from her doorway and she looked over to see the human Spectre, Rex, on one knee trying to hold the rest of herself up with one hand on the door way. Rex's other hand was clenching her abdomen.

Kota sat up in an instant, scowling as she placed the datapad on her nightstand. "What the hell are you doing her," she exclaimed.

"I'm-I'm sorry," Rex said between laughs, "Gimme a second." She eventually managed to pick herself up and contain her laughter. "Sorry, that was just too great not to laugh at."

Kota frowned, her bottom lip poking out a bit as she crossed her arms. "I'm so glad my embarrassment amuses you, Commander."

"Ah, Commander," Rex said with a smirk, "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Is there a reason you came by? Or were you spying on me?"

The commander walked over and pointed to the spot next to Kota. "May I?" The asari looked down at the spot, then back to Rex and just shrugged. "Thank you," Rex said before sitting next to her, "Look I just came by to apologize for raising my voice at you back there. I have a tendency to sometimes bottle up my anger. I have to hide my true feelings a lot. That time they just kinda came out all at once."

Kota let her arms down to rest on her own thighs, "Apology accepted. I suppose it was inconsiderate of me to expose classified information to already worried parents."

"Speaking of parents, you told me you didn't know your father, but you have a mother," Rex started.

"Look Commander, I accept you apology. I forgive you. We don't have to get to know each other and be each other's friends to get along," the asari said, pulling her legs up to her chest.

The human sighed, "Why is it so hard for you to just open up a little?"

Blue eyes glared upon the human, "Because it shows weakness. Please, excuse me. I was just about to catch a few hours of sleep."

"Fine. Whatever." Rex got up and walked to the door, taking one last look at the asari before continuing on, letting the doors close behind her.

* * *

Williams walked to the elevator and just as she was about to summon it, a woman came rushing out from the infirmary towards her. "Oh no you don't," she shouted, holding her hand out not allowing Rex to press the button. Her hair was long and blonde, but black underneath as well as light purple streaks. There was a buzzed and shaved down line about an inch thick and three inches long on the right side of her head, from her sideburn going up in a slanted fashion. The rest of her hair was all brushed to the side. She had the punk rock look from the 21st century going for her as she had a lip and nose piercing. She was wearing black leather boots that went up to her knees, a royal purple miniskirt, black leggings, and a black tight fitting tee that slightly showed off her pierced belly button. She also had on a long white lab coat with the sleeves rolled up revealing tattoos covering both arms.

Rex gave her an odd look. She had seen this style before but only in text books in her early sociology classes in high school. "Um, can I help you," she asked rubbing the back of her neck.

"Dr. Niki Vang," the doctor introduced herself, "I've been waiting for you to come and introduce yourself to me, but it seems every time you come through this deck, you avoid my office." Niki put her hands on her hips as if expecting and explanation.

Commander Williams thought Niki looked awfully young to be a doctor, but hell, she could be any age for all she knew. Maybe it was the woman's choice of style that threw her off. "Uh, yeah, sorry about that," Rex began to explain, "I just kinda like to stay away from the doctor's office. Needles really aren't my thing."

"Why is it that everyone thinks I'm going to stick them with something," she scoffed, "Don't be such a big baby. You get shot at all the time. Geez, what's a little prick going to hurt? Anyways, that's not what I'm here to do. I just wanted to introduce myself and make it be known that if you do have a bullet rip though your armor, I'll be here to repair you."

Rex gave a fake smile and held out her hand. She really did hate doctors and was praying she didn't have to visit the infirmary soon. "Nice to meet you, doctor."

Niki took her hand and shook it smirking, "Likewise. Oh, and if you need help on the field, I'm an excellent shot. I have plenty of military training to go with my medical knowledge."

"Ok, we can stop talking about shots now, please," Rex begged. She was an N7 soldier and a Spectre, but those damn needles terrified her.

The blonde rolled her icy blue eyes. "Ugh, fine. You know where you can find me," she said before taking off, returning to her disinfectant smelling quarters.

_**Sorry for this being such a short chapter. I promise to have more soon. I've been up paying so much attention to the election.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**2286**

**Chapter 6**

The Normandy had been scanning out in the Terminus for three days now, but nothing out of the ordinary had come up so far. Everyone on the ship had wondered if they ever would find anything. Rex was down in the cargo hold, which she had dubbed her gym, delivering hard jabs to a large punching bag. The soldier had to keep in shape and she loved exercising so it wasn't hard. This was like recess for her besides fighting enemies. She truly did enjoy the challenge of battle. Perhaps that's why she and Wrex were so close. Right now, Rex was outfitted in white tank top with the Alliance symbol printed on the front and a pair of blue gym shorts. The top had obviously been used quite often as the graphic over her chest was worn and faded. After throwing a series of punches and kicks at the bag, Rex pulled her gloves off, throwing them to the ground before dropping as well to start doing rapid push ups. Beads of sweat ran down her nose, falling from the tip, splashing onto the metal surface of the floor creating a small puddle. For a woman, she had a bit of muscle, but it was well toned and not overdone. Rex liked to look masculine because that's how she felt. Plus it helped a bit with the intimidation factor. After doing a few more exercises and cool down stretches, she hopped to her feet grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from her face.

"Commander," Ivy's voice came from the speakers, "We've got a dead ship in our sights. Everything is offline. It looks like a large freighter. Could just be nothing, but I don't see any kind of structural damage that would cause it to go offline."

"They could be updating vital systems," Rex replied, shooting some water into her mouth from a bottle.

"Yeah, see I tried to hail them, no reply. They would have at least kept up lines for communications in case of emergency."

Rex popped her neck before slinging her towel around her shoulders. "Alright. Let me clean up real quick. Tell Kota and Venz to suit up. We'll check it out."

"Aye aye, ma'am."

* * *

In an unknown part of the galaxy, a station orbited a brown dwarf, but it was not visible to the naked eye for it had a special cloaking shield around it. Two figures were in the darkness in a room within the station, one sitting. The other figure was standing behind him and spoke with a female voice, "We have reason to believe that the Alliance has obtained information about one of our projects." There was very little emotion from the woman's voice. It was quite monotonous.

"Have they? Hm. Well, let them. At this point it would be nearly impossible for them to stop us. Has the lab had any improvements with the DNA?"

"No new developments so far, sir."

"And the implant data?"

"It is being extracted at this moment, sir."

"Let me know if we have figured out a way to transplant that data. Other than that, keep up with security."

The feminine figure nodded. "Yes sir." She turned walking towards an exit.

* * *

Suited up and armed, Rex, Kota, and Venz approached the entrance of the lifeless freighter through the docking tube. Rex turned to her two squad members and held up a cautious hand. "Ok, we have no idea who or what could be in here. Venz, hold my six. Kota, you're on the opposite. Stick close and keep your eyes on the corners. Expect the unexpected." Venz and Kota nodded to their commander.

Rex opened the hatch and stepped in steadily, holding her pistol forward. "This is Commander Williams of the Alliance Navy! I am here as a Council Spectre! If there is anyone here, make your presence known with your voice!" There was no reply so Rex glanced at her two partners and nodded to them, moving along. They went from container to container, their backs against the crates to use them as shield should any hostiles present themselves. There was a door on the other side of the room they were making their way to cautiously.

Suddenly the human Spectre stopped in her tracks causing Kota to look towards her, expecting something. "Commander?"

"Shh," Rex hushed her by holding a hand up slightly. There were voices coming from one of the next rooms.

"Voices," Venz whispered very lightly.

"Let's go. Stay as quiet as possible," Rex whispered back motioning her hand for them to move to the door. They complied, Venz on the right side of the door, Kota on the left. For this, Rex turned on an extra omnitool that was on her left arm, bringing up a large riot shield made of energy.

Just then, someone on the other side of the door shouted out in pain. The commander's face became serious quickly as she nodded to Kota to open the door. Rex held her shield up and grabbed her submachine gun. The assault rifle was too heavy for this technique of hers. A shotgun had too much spread. A pistol would have to be reloaded too often. Her SMG had some pretty wicked recoil, but thankfully she had practiced this enough for the muscles in her hand and arm to become accustomed to it. Kota hit the console on the door allowing it to fling open.

On the other side, a turian was strapped to a table with two men standing above him on either side. They had been shouting at him and right now they were electrifying his restraints. Apparently he hadn't answered their questions the way they wanted him to. He yelped out in agony.

Once the door was open, Rex quickly targeted the man on the left, spraying him first, carefully aiming her bullets at his knees. She wanted to keep at least one alive if possible and the guy to the right would be much harder to incapacitate since he had barriers and shields.

Instantly, the armed man to the right reached for his shotgun and shot at them before jumping behind a crate behind him and began to flee towards a door at the left of the room. Kota quickly hit him with a singularity and warp causing him to go floating. He flailed frantically, trying to aim for them as he went twirling in the air. Venz, using merely just a pistol, popped two rounds. One round tore through the soldier's barriers and the second through his head.

A bit surprised at his marksmanship from hitting a flailing man in the head with a pistol, Rex looked at Venz blinking. "Impressive," she said, her mouth gaping slightly.

The Russian gave her a smirk. "Eh, I was alright at target practice. His barriers were crap. That's what happens when you don't keep your equipment in check."

Kota rushed over to the detained turian. "Damnit," she swore under her breath trying to hack into the console that was controlling his restraints.

"What is it? Get him out of those restraints," Rex ordered, looking at the turian, "Are you Han?"

He seemed to scowl back at the human, "The last people who asked me my name and I gave it to them, did this to me. You think I'm a fool?"

"Hey, we're trying to save your ass," Rex yelled, "Your parents are worried sick about you." She turned back and knelt down to the soldier who's knee caps she was responsible for. "And you," she said with an almost evil low voice, "Are you Cerberus?"

"I'm not tellin' you shit," the human male in black and orange armor shouted. This was a mistake for him as Venz walked over, stepping on and crushing his fingers. "AHH! Yes! Cerberus!"

Rex's eyes narrowed. "What is Cerberus up to? Who is controlling them now? Who is your leader?"

"Th-they just want revenge on the Reapers. I-I don't know who the leader is now!" The Cerberus soldier was obviously scared now as there was a puddle forming beneath his pelvis. It wasn't blood. The blood was around his badly wounded legs.

The human Spectre stood up looking at the asari. "What's taking so long?"

"If we unshackle him, it will trigger a bomb," Kota replied with an aggravated sigh.

Rex just shrugged, "Then I'll be fulfilling the other half of Garrus' promise." Han just looked at her with a shocked face. "What? The first half is saving your scales. Will we have any time to get out once he's unshackled?"

"About thirty seconds," Kota replied.

"Do you know if anyone else is on this ship," Rex asked Han.

The turian shook his head. "There were scientists, but I think they said they had data on some implants that were coming in and they had to go to their main base."

"Why did they abduct you," Venz asked as he walked over.

"They figured that with me being so tied in with the quarians I would be able to help them understand some weapon from the Reapers they had acquired," he growled, "Bastards. They didn't believe me when I told them I couldn't help them. I'm not into tech and stuff like my mom. I like drinking and shooting things."

Rex and Kota glanced at each other. "Is that weapon here, Han," Kota asked. When she questioned him, her voice was much softer than when she was speaking normally with the human Spectre, Rex thought.

Han shrugged, "No idea."

"Well, let's blow this place then," Rex said, looking back down at the Cerberus soldier, who gave her a worried look. "You didn't think we were gonna save you, did you?"

"You bitch," he shouted angrily reaching for his dropped pistol. Unfortunately, Venz had to eject a bullet into his head before his hand reached the weapon.

The commander looked at the tall soldier, giving him a fake pout. "Aw, that's no fun. I was hoping he'd suffer like he made Han suffer." Venz just shook his head, knowing the commander was joking.

"Don't you think we should see if that weapon is here, Rex," Kota said, giving the commander a concerned look.

Rex shook her head, "No. We need to hurry and get out of here. We don't know if they have some kind of silent alarm to send reinforcements. Let's unlock him and get out. If it is here, at least Cerberus won't have it anymore. And if they were willing to blow it up, they already have what they want on it."

Inside, Kota frowned, but she wasn't looking forward to getting chewed out again for disobeying orders. "Yes, Commander," she said disappointingly. She pushed a few buttons on the console and then the metal cuffs around Han's wrists, ankles, and neck came undone. The asari leaned forward, grabbing Han's arm to help him up. "Let's go!"

As soon as the turian was on his feet, the alarms of the ship began going off. The four of them ran through the door, running towards the other side of the cargo area to where the Normandy was docked to the freighter. The alarms coincided with the number of seconds counting. It was almost as if the crates and boxes had been set up in such a way to make it harder to get from one side of the room to the other. Rex hopped and slid over the last crate standing between her and the door that led to her ship. She punched the console to the door and stood to the side letting the other three run in before her. "Go, go, go!" She followed close behind her squad members as they boarded the Normandy as quickly as possible. "Let's get the hell outta here, Ivy!"

"On it, Commander!"

The warship departed from the Cerberus freighter flying away as quickly as possible. The larger ship suddenly exploded in fury of flames and flying shrapnel.

Han pressed a hand against a cold metal wall leaning forward, panting. Once he caught his breath, he turned to Rex. "Thank you for that, Commander," he said, holding his hand out, "And yes, I am Han."

She took the turian's hand and shook it, giving him a quick nod. "No problem. We should get you back to Rannoch or just somewhere in Council space. The Terminus isn't safe for you."

He shook his head waving his hand. "I'd rather not return to my parents right away."

"Well, then we'll take you to the Citadel."

"Actually, I might serve you better here."

Rex cocked a brow. "Uh, how exactly?"

"Don't worry, Commander," Han replied, "You saved my life. I'll figure out a way to make myself useful. I promise. Just let me stay here."

"Well, you mentioned you like to shoot things, so that has to account for something. Alright, welcome to the team, Han."

Han tilted his head forward. "Thank you, Commander."

"Just Rex please."

* * *

"Sir, the Reaper weapon has been destroyed."

"What? By who?"

"Two Spectres. A human, Commander Alex Williams of the Alliance. And an asari. Very little information is known on the asari other than her name, Kota."

The man sitting in the shadows, shifted forwards in his seat, sighing. "Well, we didn't get all the necessary data to understand how it works, but there are more Reapers. We will just get another one. Do me a favor and see to it that this Commander Williams and Kota are taken care of."

"Yes sir. I will see to it immediately."

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I hope to have more up soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**2286**

_**Hey everyone. Thank you again for all the reviews so far. I'm happy that you guys are enjoying this story. I know it's getting off slowly, but I promise it's going somewhere. Just manage with me. I'm trying to build character personalities so that everyone can understand their quirks. Thanks again to everyone who is reading.**_

**Chapter 7**

In the depths of the captain's cabin was a very concentrated Rex sitting at her desk under a spot lamp. With her tongue poked out the side of lips, her brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she used the equivalent of an X-acto knife to cut a piece of plastic. The human commander had gotten her first ship model and this was her first time putting one together, so it had been frustrating. "Oh, for the love of God," she growled at the knife. Suddenly, the knife slipped, the tip slipped over the top of the plastic and sliced into the meat of Rex's palm. She paused for a moment, having a late reaction to the pain, before dropping everything to shout, "Som'bitch!" She looked down at her project scowling. "You stupid knife," she spat at the inanimate object before running out of her cabin and to the elevator. She tried to make it up to the med bay as quickly as possible so that blood didn't get everywhere, but of course the elevator didn't care. "Christ, hundreds of years of technological innovation and they still haven't made elevators quick enough to beat me to the end of this sentence!"

Once the doors opened, Rex ran to the med bay, the door opening upon her presence. Niki and Kota were standing inside having a chat. "Yeah, I miss mine sometimes too, but we don't really get along too much," Niki was saying to Kota.

Any other time, Rex would be curious to what they were talking about, but in her mind she was bleeding to death from a cut. She marched in hold her bleeding hand out towards Niki with her palm pointed up. "Medi-gel please," she yelled out.

Niki blinked turning her head to the door as the commander ran in, interrupting her conversation. She grabbed Rex by the wrist of the wounded hand. "Geez, what the hell did you do," she asked. The doctor pulled her rather hard towards the sink by her desk. She turned on cold water and put the hand under it to wash away the majority of the blood. "Have you become a masochist now?"

"You're the one asking me that question," Rex asked with sarcasm, wincing as the water splashed onto her cut.

"I think I'll be going elsewhere now," Kota said as she made her exit.

Rex watched as the asari left the room and then turned her attention back to Niki. "What were you two talking about?"

The doctor pulled the commander's hand from the sink, turning off the water. "Oh, nothing, just parent stuff," she replied as she pulled the commander to an examination table. "Sit down. Keep your hand where it's at."

The commander complied, hopping up onto the table keeping her hand up, looking as if she were asking for a hand out. "She told you about her parents? What did she say?"

"Classified information, ma'am," Niki said with a smirk. She walked to metal cabinet reaching in for some medi-gel and some cotton wrapping.

"Oh, haha, very funny. She told you about that. Damn, I said I was sorry. Seriously, what did she say about her parents?"

Niki stepped back over to Rex and began applying the medi-gel onto the cut. "Seriously, I can't tell you. If you want to know, you should ask her," she said before wrapping the wounded hand up.

"Don't you think I have? She won't tell me a damn thing. It's like she has it out for me or something."

The doctor pulled out her desk chair and made it face Rex before sitting down in it. "Really? It seemed to me like she has more of a thing for you. Maybe you should dig deeper."

"A thing for me? Are you hearing yourself right now, doc? She won't open up to me. She refuses to respect me. What makes you think she likes me like that if she won't even give me the time of day?"

"So, you're saying you like her like that? You're attracted to her?"

Rex gave her a straight face. "Now you're just putting words in my mouth."

Niki laughed. "Maybe the mysterious thing is part of her sex appeal. Come on, Commander. You don't think she's pretty hot?"

The commander put her feet on the floor getting up off the table. "And now this conversation is over." Rex didn't know it, but a blush had quickly spread across her cheeks due to Niki's questions.

The doctor grinned big, watching Rex walk out of her office already knowing the answers to her questions whether or not they were given verbally. "See ya, Rex."

* * *

In the cockpit, Venz was standing in front of Ivy, who had set the ship on auto, holding a black long metal box. He held the box to eye level, rotating it and inspecting it. "So, can you fix it," Ivy asked.

"Are you kidding me? This technology is ancient. There's no way. Why in the hell are you using an old age stereo system up here anyways," he replied.

"Because they wouldn't put in the system I requisitioned when they building the ship," she said, "Just please fix it."

The Russian laughed at the redhead. "Sorry, but there's no way I can fix this."

"Why the hell not?!"

"I would never be able to find the parts for something this old!"

Ivy's bottom lip suddenly pushed forward and she got big puppy dog eyes, clasping her hands together putting them up against one cheek. "Venz…"

He sighed, putting one hand over his face. "Fine. I tell you what. When we get to the Citadel, I'll go get the stuff for a modern system."

The redhead grinned, suddenly not looking as if she would bawl tears. "I knew you would see reason." She always got what she wanted with that look. It worked on her father every time, so it wasn't hard using it against other people. Ivy was far from a spoiled brat. She didn't really ask for much, but her music was a must, and she would do whatever it took to get it.

The commander came walking in, overhearing the conversation as she approached the cockpit from the bridge. "Everything ok in here?"

"It's fine," Venz gave an annoyed reply as he left, going back to his post.

Rex raised an eyebrow at Ivy and crossed her arms. "Ivy," she had a tone.

"Commander, you ever had a song you couldn't stand stuck in your head?"

Rex, looking confused, answered, "Uh, yeah, what of it?"

"This incredibly stupid yet catchy song from the 21st century, called Rack City, is stuck on repeat in mine. I'm about to go batshit crazy. I need my radio back up and running just to function properly."

"And you're getting Venz to fix it?"

"Well, he seemed worried and came to check on me when I suddenly shouted, 'Fuckin' shut up' so he kinda brought himself into it," Ivy replied as she went over and sat back down in her pilot seat.

"This isn't going to affect his work, is it?"

"What, organizing tasks? Pfft, unless you want me flying into a sun because of ten, ten, ten, twenties, and them fifties, I suggest you let him fix it."

Rex sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "How long til we're at the Citadel?"

"Just about an hour. How is Han settling in?"

"I was just about to go check on him. I wanted to talk to you about something first." The commander's tone was serious.

"Oh great, what did I do wrong," the pilot said as she turned in her seat to face the commander again, only looking slightly worried.

Rex blinked, looking down at her. "What? Nothing wrong. I just wanted to know what's with your nickname. I know Ivy isn't your real name, Irene."

"Christ, you've gone through my file? You coulda just asked. I woulda told you," Ivy replied, turning back around in her seat sighing, "Look, it's a stupid Batman joke. My dad has called me that since I was a little girl. Harley wouldn't work because I'm not a blonde."

The commander thought for a moment, recalling reading some old school comics when she was younger. "Why not like Babs or something?"

Ivy shrugged, "Not a villain I guess. It's just a nickname. And now you know who my parents are and why I'm the best one to pilot this wonderful ship of yours."

"How did that work by the way?"

"You ask too many personal questions, commander."

"Fine, fine. I'll stop. I was just wondering. Seems like this ship is becoming full of old heroes' offspring." Rex peered out the window into the vast expanse as it zoomed by.

"Yeah, no pressure, right? Too bad Commander Shepard never got the chance to have a kid. If that were the case, you probably wouldn't be the captain of this ship."

"Very funny. I'm going to check on Han. Thanks for the talk."

"No prob, Commander."

* * *

Han was in the squad lounge sitting on a couch in front of a very large screen that had people talking on it with subtitles. The turian had a strip of metal attached to his forehead about five inches long and an inch wide. He held a glass filled with turian liquor to his mouth drinking some. Rex was walking in just as he shouted, "No, that's not what I wanted you to say Commander Jackass! I didn't want you to be touchy feely. I wanted you say the asshole choice." Han heard the door close behind Rex so he turned around. "Ah, Commander." Rex's eyes were wide, showing that she was obviously concerned about the commotion coming from her newest team member. "Um, sorry, that wasn't directed at you. Just playing a vid game. I think the damn neural sensor needs to be calibrated. Anyways, what's up?"

"Just wanted to see how you've been since you've been on the ship," she replied, her concern fading.

He shrugged and motioned for her to sit next to him. "I'm comfy," he said as Rex sat next him, "The ship has a bar, guns, and vid games. I'm good. I am a bit concerned about the Husk in engineering though."

"Haha, I've been getting that a lot," she laughed, "Nah, Huskins is cool. So, you like vid games? What are you playing anyways?"

Han nodded before looking back at the screen. "Yeah, it can be pretty entertaining immersing yourself in a fantasy world and escaping reality. This is called Choice and Consequence. You pretty much make the story go the way you want it to go. You know, I heard that back in the day, humans made games about the time we're living in now."

"Yeah, that's true. I actually like old school games from hundreds of years ago, even though the graphics suck."

"A Spectre into vid games? Never thought I'd see the day. So, if you could be any game character, who would it be?"

"Hmm, I'd have to go way back. You might not know who it is."

"Try me."

"Do you know what MGS is?"

Han tilted his head up letting out a hearty laugh, his mandibles stretching out as he did so, his eyes closed.

Rex's eyebrows moved closer together as she asked, "What's so funny?"

"Sorry, Commander," he said as he stopped laughing, "You could never be Solid Snake."

The human pouted, "Hmph. Then who would I be?"

"I don't know, but not Snake."

"Well, if you were in a game, you'd probably be in one that had a crappy end."

"Touche," Han laughed again, "We should play some together sometime."

The human stopped pouting and smirked. "I'll take you up on that, Han." Her omnitool lit up and she looked down at, an alarm going off. "Well, looks like it's workout time. Good talkin' to ya. Let me know if you need anything."

"Will do. See you around, Rex," he replied as he turned back to his game.

* * *

About an hour had passed since the commander went down to the cargo bay to work out. Already, she was dripping in sweat as she was doing a lot of cardio. As punches and kicks were slammed into the bag, droplets of sweat slung from Rex's body. Her hair was getting in her eyes, sweat dripping from her bangs and getting in to her eyes, stinging them. She had to keep using her forearm to push the bangs and sweat from her eyes and forehead. Rex was thinking it was time for a shorter haircut. She gave the bag a jab with her left fist, took a side step with her bare left foot, and kicked with her right leg, repeating this for many reps before switching to the other side.

The elevator console lit up signaling that someone was coming down. The doors opened and Kota walked out, but stopped in her tracks when she saw the commander. Her cheeks turned a light purple. This time, Rex was wearing a simple black sports bra instead of a tank top. _'Don't even start thinking like that, Kota.' _ The asari stood there for a moment, noting every indention she could see in the soldier's lightly tanned, well toned body that was glistening with sweat. _'By the Goddess…the dip in her back- No! Stop it!' _ Her breath caught in her throat when Rex turned around, catching her staring.

Rex heard the footsteps of the other Spectre and went ahead to finish her reps before turning around to meet the asari's eyes. "Can I help you with something?"

"I-I, uh, I-Ivy told me to tell you we're approaching the Citadel," she shouted, but didn't know why she felt the need to be loud. Feeling embarrassed, she effectively ran back into the elevator closing the doors quickly. _'I'm such an idiot.'_

"Ok, I'll be done in a-," Rex started, but Kota was gone before she could finish, "…minute?" The human wondered if she had done anything to send the other Spectre to run off so quickly. Confused, she sniffed her armpit. She didn't smell badly from workout, so she shrugged and got back to her routine.

* * *

Liara had been standing in her shower for what seemed like an eternity now. She was silently crying, holding herself. This day had been the hardest of them all, and now it had been a century. Today marked the day the Reaper War ended, the day she lost Shepard for the second and final time. She placed two hands against the cool metal wall, dipping her head down, looking as if she were pushing the wall away from her. Every breath she drew came trembling. _'How could I just keep her at arm's length the whole time? Why did I spend our last days continuously brushing her aside? I was such a fool. Why didn't I just let her in?'_

Dr. T'soni sighed shutting off the water before stepping out of the shower and drying herself with a towel. She walked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom before to slip into some short shorts, a white tight fitting t-shirt, and Shepard's old N7 hoodie. The hoodie was still in near perfect condition. It was something Liara had taken very good care of. She noticed a green blinking light out of the corner of her eye coming from her private console. Liara walked over and brought the screen to life. There was a new message from an anonymous source. She narrowed her eyes, noting the subject that only read, 'Cerberus.' She quickly sat down at the console and opened the message.

'Just thought you should know that the three headed dog has risen its ugly heads again,' was all that the message said.

"Cerberus," Liara whispered to herself, shaking her head. She got up quickly running to the broker room of her mini station. "Glyph," she said a bit more loudly, "How come I am just now learning that Cerberus is back?"

"No agents have reported any knowledge of them, Dr. T'soni," the drone replied.

'_No, that's impossible…how could they fall so far under MY radar…unless…'_

"Damnit," she cursed, "They're in the network. Glyph, run reports on all agents across the network. Tag any agents who have sent or received messages in unknown encryptions."

"Of course, Doctor," Glyph complied as it began running the process.

Liara went to the network console and began looking at the results. Her eyes widened at what she discovered. _'By the Goddess…they've infiltrated into all societies…not just humans. What are they planning?' _

"Results are complete, Dr. T'soni."

The asari began typing up a message to be sent out to certain non Cerberus corrupted agents.

'Your primary assignment has been changed. This is a list of known moles within the network. Track them down and eliminate the as soon as possible. This is not an optional task. This is a must. Do it or face the consequences.'

"Glyph, I want to know when all of these mole agents are terminated," she said coldly.

"Yes, Doctor."

* * *

Within the darkness of the unknown station orbiting the brown dwarf, the man sitting in his chair took a drag from a cigarette. The same armored woman who always kept him updated walked in with new information.

"Sir, it appears as if the Shadow Broker has discovered our infiltration of his network," she said, standing straight with her arms behind her back.

He took a sip from a glass he was holding in his other hand before speaking, "Took 'her' long enough."

"The Broker is having our agents assassinated."

"Let her. We know where she's at now. Now, we wait until she feels safe from us. Then we will move ahead with our plan to take her down. How is the situation with the Spectres coming along?"

"They're at the Citadel, sir."

"Right. Untouchable…for the moment. Keep me updated."

"Yes sir."

_**Ok, so, I hate to say this, but I'm picking up Resident Evil 6 and Assassin's Creed 3 tomorrow, so if I seem scarce the next few weeks, I'm terribly sorry. I've just been wanting to get my game on with these two games, but I promise not to forget about this fic. I will still update, though. Oh, and if anyone is wondering why Ivy is the way she is, it's because I put a bit of myself in her. While, I'm not a redhead, I'd like to think I have a job a lot like hers. I happen to operate an 18-wheeler and most of the time I think of my truck as my own personal Normandy. Even the gauges are all the same shade of orange, and I plan on decaling it out with all sorts of Mass Effect logos. I also sometimes tend to call exits and onramps relays. Yeah, I'm a super Mass Effect nerd. Anyways, the only way I make it through sitting and dealing with crazy ass drivers for 11 hours a day is my music, and while I listen to just about anything (and I mean anything), I am a big hip hop junkie. Plus, who wouldn't want Joker as a dad? And I've always thought Joker looks a lot like my late dad when he was younger. Anyways, enough nerd rambling from me. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_


	8. Chapter 8

**2286**

**Chapter 8**

It didn't take long to reach the Citadel after the Normandy entered the Sol System. Commander Williams was in the cockpit with Ivy as docking procedures began. She knelt down to the mic that went to all speakers on the ship. "Ok, as everyone knows, the next two days are galactic holidays. Everyone gets shore leave. I expect every to be back at their post in 48 hours, no exceptions. Keep your omnitools on in case of emergency, though. No telling when we'll be called on. Go have fun, just not too much fun," Rex said. Once they were docked, Ivy got up stretching. "So, what are you planning on doing," the commander asked.

The pilot just shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, I don't know. I'll probably just go shopping with Venz to get those parts. Maybe I'll go get plastered at Purgatory or something."

Rex held her hand up slightly, almost expecting a different answer. "What, you aren't going to go visit your parents at least?"

"Hm, I'll think about it, but probably not. Dad will just ask me a million things about the ship and Mom will ask me about how I feel about my existence on the ship. Too much talk, not enough partying."

"Well, alright then, just don't come back with a hangover."

"Flying at FTL speeds while still slightly intoxicated and a headache? Huh, sounds like fun. Maybe I'll try it." Rex gave her a smartass look. "Joking, joking."

Rex went to get cabin to gather a bag of some clothing and a few other items as she had planned to fly down to the blue planet beneath the Citadel to visit her mom. She slung the bag over her shoulder and exited the ship along with everyone else. Upon stepping onto the dock, she was greeted by a pleasant, yet unexpected surprise, her mother.

Ash waved her daughter over whilst yelling over the crowd, "Hey!" Rex just smirked and walked over hugging her mom. "It's about time you pulled into port."

"Mom, what are you doing here," Rex asked as she followed her mom through the crowds of other families.

General Williams turned, giving the younger soldier a solemn look. "I came to get you…and to honor an old friend."

"Oh, right. I forgot they were holding a memorial tonight," Rex nodded, "Hey, have you seen Admiral Vega around? I wanted to discuss further about my last mission."

"Don't worry. He'll be at the memorial, along with a few other old friends. Maybe you can talk to him afterwards. For now, let's go throw your stuff in the shuttle, get some lunch, and catch up. Sound good?"

Rex smiled, "Sounds great."

* * *

Not too much later, Rex and Ash were sitting at a table in the Prisidium Commons, having just finished lunch. "So, you blew up a Cerberus vessel and managed to get Han out safe. Good job. God, I hate those bastards," said before sipping some iced tea.

The commander looked out on the Prisidium, leaning back in her seat. "Yeah, they were using some brutal methods trying to get him to help them. I wonder how they came back up, or how long they've been back up. I can only imagine how spread out they are." She shifted in her seat to face her mother. "Hey, can I ask you for some advice?"

"Of course. What's up?" The general leaned forward, crossing her arms on the table.

"I have been able to connect and get know my crew pretty well except for the asari Spectre, Kota. She will hardly let me talk to her. She always deflects my questions. She just won't let me get to know her even a bit. I don't think she trusts me. What should I do?"

"Hm, if it's a trust issue, then maybe actions speak louder than words. You know, at one point, when Shepard was working for Cerberus, I had little faith in her. Of course, I regret that now, but through her actions, I was able to trust her again."

Rex looked down at the table, thinking for a moment, and then looking back up. "Hm, maybe you're right. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime," Ash replied getting up, "Well, I should go start getting ready for the memorial. See you there?"

The Spectre nodded to her before Ashley walked around the table and kissed her forehead. "Agh, Mom, not in public!" Rex had always been embarrassed whenever her mother treated her like a child in front of others. Of course, Ash had always done it just because she got a kick out of her kid's reaction.

"Oh, I brought your brother up here, too. You should go find him. He's probably having a pity party in his hotel room still." Ashley was speaking of Rex's fraternal twin.

"Kaiden? What's he upset about now?"

"It's over another girl. Just go try to cheer him up. I've tried and tried, but he's stubborn like you."

"Ugh," Rex scoffed, "Alright. See ya, Mom."

* * *

After lunch, the commander went to the hotel on the Prisidium to find her brother's room. Kaiden was technically younger than she was, being born just a few minutes after. Like her, he was named after one of her mother's close friends who were lost because of the Reapers. Rex knocked on the door only to receive, "Go away, Mom. I don't want to talk!"

She scowled and hit the door harder. "It's not, Mom, crybaby! Now open up before I break the door console!"

Just then, the door slid up, a man standing as tall as Rex, having similar features, such as the dark brown hair and blue eyes, stood in front of her. His hair was messy like his sister's, but he had it waxed up in a more stylish bedhead look. He had rather long side burns, which Rex had always thought he should shave off. At the moment, he had a very stubbly face, probably from moping for days. Other than that, he had been practical eye candy for other females of all species. Kaiden had never had a problem attracting women with his looks, but keeping them was different. He had always courted rather shallow women who couldn't see past his good looks. It was his own fault, though, being that he couldn't see through good looks himself. Rex's brother wasn't a soldier, always being very intelligent his entire life. He was currently a professor of History at the New Oxford University in London.

"Damn, you look like shit," Rex said walking into his room.

"I don't look any worse than you," Kaiden replied, closing the door as he followed her in, "You really need to do something about your hair."

"Hah, how my hair looks is the least of my worries," she said as she plopped down on the couch in the suite. "So who broke your poor wittle heart this time?"

He sat down in a chair across from her, giving her a look that said he was not amused with her baby talk towards him. "Her name is Stephanie, but what does that concern you?"

"Mom said you were moping around, feeling sorry for yourself."

"Yeah, well, I don't need a pep talk if that's why she sent you."

"Really? 'Cause it sure looks like it," she said, giving the same look to him, "She's just worried about you. And who is this Stephanie? I thought you were dating a Janice."

"Christ, that was last year, Rex," Kaiden said as he shook his head, "You would know if you visited more often. You always claim Mom is worried about me, but at least I visit her. You always stay gone playing soldier. You're the one she continuously worries about. All I ever hear when I visit her is 'Rex this, Rex that.'"

Commander Williams narrowed her eyes into a scowl, pointing a finger at her brother. "I am a Spectre. I have a plethora of duties to attend to. She knows that and so do you. Plus, she has never given me shit about it either, unlike you. Watch your mouth when you talk about what I do with my life. At least I'm not only worried about screwing the next hot thing to come out of Afterlife. Before we know it, you'll be just like our no good father."

Being compared to their dad pissed Kaiden off more than anything. Rex certainly knew how to push his buttons. He stood up and pointed to the door. "And now, you can see yourself out!"

"Gladly, asshole," Rex spat back, going to the door and storming out.

* * *

The evening soon came and a crowd gathered at what had once been the memorial wall and temporary housing during the Reaper War. What used to be a wall covered in pictures of peoples' loved ones had been transformed into a giant mural of soldiers fighting a bloody war. If standing close enough, all the colors and lines were actually peoples' names written in different colors to make up the image, sort of like a photo mosaic. These were the names of the many who were lost in the war. In front of the mural stood a large statue of a female soldier dawning a buzz cut and N7 armor. One the left hand was an omniblade, lifted up and ready to go, and the other had was at her side holding a heavy pistol. It was the Savior of the Galaxy, Commander Shepard.

Rex made her way towards the statue where she expected to find her mother, but instead she found Kota, who was running her hand over the plaque of the statue that read the late commander's name. The human walked up to stand next to the asari, staring up at the sculpture. "Didn't expect to find you here," she said.

Kota, whose eyes had been closed and her head down, joined Rex at looking up towards the face of the galaxy's greatest hero. "Even I know how to pay my respects to those who allowed us to live," Kota replied.

Rex closed her eyes, tilting her head forward as she pressed her palms together to pray. "I wasn't implying otherwise." After praying silently for a few moments, she opened her eyes and looked to her side, but the asari was gone. "Eh, figures." She took a few steps back to get a better view of the top of the statue, bumping into a large frame behind her. Whoever it was, was stout and didn't budge one bit. She turned around to give an apology, but was greeted by a familiar smile.

"Good ol' Lola," James said as he looked up at the statue, hands behind his back.

"Ah, Admiral Vega," the smaller soldier said in a salute, "I was expecting to see you. Uh, Lola?"

He nodded moving closer to the statue, "Yeah, it was my nickname for her. Even in death she still knows how to fill out a suit of armor."

"Little bit of crush there," Rex laughed.

"Nah. Just admiration. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be where I am now. Hell, none of us would."

"I'll second that," spoke a woman with an Australian accent, who had just walked up. She had the perfect body, a pale complexion, long brown hair, and icy blue eyes. Miranda stood with her arms crossed, gazing at the entire piece of art, mural, statue, and all.

Vega looked over almost surprised to see the former Cerberus operative. "Well, a lot of the credit goes to you, too," he said.

Miranda shook her head, not once looking at either James or Rex. "I just brought her back. I didn't save the entire galaxy. Even then, that credit should go to Dr. T'soni."

Rex stood there for a moment, looking at the woman, admiring her features. She felt herself oddly attracted to her, but if she were correct in her assumptions of who the woman was, she knew that it was normal for people to be drawn in by her good looks. "Wait a minute," Rex interjected, "You're Miranda Lawson, right?"

The woman of perfection turned to look back at Rex, nodding. "Correct."

"And she's being modest," James added, "If it weren't for her, Shepard wouldn't have been here to save the galaxy."

"Yeah, I've heard the stories," Rex said, "You brought Commander Shepard back from the dead when she was killed by the Collectors. And then you went with her through the Omega 4 relay to take them down. Man, that's awesome."

"And you are," Miranda asked, sounding a bit cold, as usual.

Rex held her hand out. "Commander Alex Williams. It is an honor to meet you, ma'am."

Miranda took her hand, shaking it, looking at the commander with narrowed eyes. "Williams, is it? I had no idea General Williams had a kid, and named her after Shepard."

Just then, Ash was walking up, giving a slight glare at Miranda. "Yes, I did, Lawson. Two actually." Even now, Ashley hadn't trusted Miranda. She used to be the Illusive Man's right hand woman, how could she? At the same time, it could have been a bit of jealousy, being that Miranda had become her replacement during Shepard's stint with Cerberus, but Ashley would never admit it.

Rex turned and smiled at her mom. "Hey, I was wondering when you'd show up."

"General Williams. It's nice to see you," Miranda said.

"It's just Williams to you," Ash said as she walked down the couple of steps to join the trio.

"Is Kaiden coming," Rex asked.

Ashley just shook her head. "No, he's still moping. He said the two of you had an argument?"

The commander frowned and sighed. "Yeah, he was being an ass. Said I'm gone on work too much."

"Figures. Look, I do wish I could see you more often, but I am a Spectre, myself, so I understand it's not always that simple. Don't worry about what I think. Besides, right now, you have bigger problems."

Rex glanced over at Miranda for a brief moment, who thankfully had her attention to the mural. "I know, Mom."

* * *

After the area that had once been a dock of the Citadel became crowded with hundreds of people, there came a chime of a bell. Everyone became completely silent, not just the memorial area, the entire Citadel. All the traffic of the sky cars came to a halt. Everyone conducting business as usual stopped what they were doing. It was so quiet, a pin could drop, and yes, you could hear it in space. This was the moment on record that the Crucible fired exactly a century ago. The moment the war ended.

After about five minutes, the silence was broken and it seemed like everyone was going back to normal business. However, most of the notable diplomats in the vicinity began rushing out of the former docking bay. Anyone else would have thought it normal, but Rex and those standing with her knew something was up.

"That didn't look too good," Rex said looking at James, "What's going on."

He was about to answer with an 'I don't know' but then his omnitool went off with a new message from the Alliance. Not half a second later, Ash's omnitool lit up as well. They both opened their messages to read. It was the same message sent out to all Alliance brass.

"Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me," James blurted out.

"What is it," Rex said, knowing it was definitely something serious.

Ashley shook her head slowly, "Oh god…a Reaper just attacked a civilian ship."

* * *

_emoh gnimoc mi_

* * *

**Yeah, that can't be good.**


	9. Chapter 9

**2286**

**Chapter 9**

"Oh god…a Reaper just attacked a civilian ship."

The commander's eyes widened at the statement she almost couldn't fathom. "But they haven't attacked anything, ANYTHING, in a century. Not even in defense. Maybe it's-."

James knew she was about to say the name 'Cerberus,' but he put a finger over his own lips signaling for her not to say anything since Miranda was nearby.

"I'll get my crew together. I'll go check it out," Rex said as she began to walk towards the steps.

"Wait," Ash said following her, "I'm coming with you."

Rex stopped, turning towards her mother, shaking her head. "No, I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Excuse me? I'm your mother and I outrank you."

James put a hand on Ashley's shoulder. "I don't think it'd be a good idea either. You two are too close. And I know Spectres can do what they want, but it'd be against Alliance regs."

The general sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing what James said to be true. "Fine. Just be careful. First you're dealing with 'you know who' and now a hostile Reaper. If anything goes wrong-."

"I'll send my own damn fleet in and the Alliance can kiss my ass if they don't like," James finished her sentence.

Ashley was a bit surprised at James' offer and turned to him, nodding her head in a 'thank you' sort of way.

"Alright, I'll report in as soon as I know something," Rex said rushing out. "God, I hope Ivy isn't drunk already," she whispered to herself as she sent out messages to her entire crew.

* * *

It took about two hours, but finally everyone got back to the Normandy. Thankfully, none of her crew had left the Citadel yet since all of them decided to stay for the moment of silence. Rex ran up the bridge to the cockpit where Ivy was sitting in her seat. Venz was to the side putting the final touches on the new sound system he and Ivy went out and bought.

"Shit, Commander," Ivy started, "I didn't even get to have one drink and the Reapers decide they want to cause a little havoc on the 100th anniversary of their failure to kill us all. So, where are we headed to?"

"Sentry Omega. Virmire," Rex replied, "It seems the ship was attacked, but not destroyed. It went down there. A distress signal was sent out."

"Virmire, wow. Things just keep getting weirder and weirder. Alright, Commander, we're taking off now. I'll let you know when our ETA is 30 minutes."

"Thanks, Ivy," Rex replied turning to leave the cockpit. She wanted to go check on the rest of the crew and apologize for their shore leave being cut early. She eventually made her way down to engineering. She wanted to speak to Huskins as she hadn't visited him since their first encounter.

* * *

Rex stepped from the elevator and into the core room where the Husk was working away very diligently. "Hey, Huskins," she said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to cut shore leave so early, but there's an emergency we have to tend to."

Huskins just shrugged. "I don't take shore leave anyways. It does not affect me. No need to apologize."

"Why don't you?"

"For the same reasons so many of my kind have killed themselves," he said sadly.

Rex walked over to stand next to him with crossed arms. "Enough of that. Next time we have shore leave, you're coming with me to have a few drinks. If anyone gives you a sideways look, I'll kick their ass."

He stopped his work and turned to look at Rex. "Really, Commander, it's not necessary. I don't mind. I like the work."

She shook her head narrowing her eyes with a smirk. "I don't think you understand, my friend. It's not up for debate. And cut the Commander crap, Huskins. It's just Rex, remember?"

"Uh, right. Of course com-er… Rex. Whatever you say," he replied a bit nervously, but at the same time, he felt a spark of happiness. Since he had become trapped in this current form, no one had even called him a 'friend.'

"Keep up the good work," the commander said walking back to the elevator.

"Oh, Rex," he said, stopping her in mid-step, she turned to face him again, "It's just, Grant."

She grinned and nodded before getting on the elevator to take it up. Rex was happy that she was making some progress with the Husk, even after only two visits. Now, if only she could make progress with Kota. She made her way back into her cabin before running and diving into her bed, hoping to get some rest before this next big mission.

* * *

At last, they had entered the Sentry Omega cluster and were closing in on Virmire. Ivy came over the speakers in Rex's cabin quite loudly, "Hey Commander! Wake up, sleepy head! We're thirty minutes out!"

Rex jolted upright in her bed, grumbling because she was scared out of her sleep instead of being awoken gently. "Damn, Flight Lieutenant, you think you could be any louder?"

"Actually, I think I can," Ivy replied with the volume maxed out.

"I'm gonna kick your ass," the commander shouted back as she jumped out of her bed, walking over to her wardrobe to put on her armor. After latching on all the metal plating, she walked out of her cabin, up the bridge, and to the cockpit. "You must think you're really funny, Ivy."

"Eh, all in a day's work," the redhead replied, shrugging as they came up on the planet before them. "I'll take us around to the distress beacon signal. You'll have to take a shuttle down there."

Rex peered out at the planet that looked like Earth except with a lot more water. There was still a scar on the planet's surface from where a massive nuke went off. "Alright. Tell Kota and Dr. Vang to meet on the shuttle."

"Aye, aye, ma'am."

* * *

On the shuttle ride down to the crash site, Rex began briefing Kota and Niki on the mission. "Apparently, a Reaper attacked an unknown civilian ship, crashing it to the planet's surface. We haven't seen any clues as to where the Reaper may have went, but maybe we can find out why it attacked the ship. Dr. Vang, you're here in case we find any wounded survivors."

"And here I thought I'd be helping you take down Cerberus," Niki scoffed with sarcasm. She was wearing a set of light armor as she was a biotic like Kota. Therefore, she wouldn't be so weighted down and she could recharge her biotics in a shorter time. It was entirely a royal purple, her favorite color, with the back lights glowing gold.

"Well, this could be Cerberus' doing," Rex replied.

Kota shook her head, looking at Rex with an angered face. "You actually side with the Reapers? You think just because they've been docile this long that they won't eventually rise up again to finish what they started?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all," Rex snapped, "All I'm saying is we don't know what happened until we get down there. But we do know that Cerberus took a Reaper laser and were planning to duplicate it. For all we know, they could have already done it and decided to test it on a civilian ship."

"Fine, but I think you'll be disappointed when you find out the true nature of those beasts," Kota said, now trying to hold back her seething anger towards what she thought was a Reaper sympathizer.

The commander was about to snap back at her, but the shuttle landed, so she decided to bite her tongue. Instead, she opened the door and jumped out, the other two following behind her.

"Damn," Rex whispered under her breath, looking at the crashed ship, which had plowed into the shore of an island on the watery planet.

"Doubt you're gonna find any survivors there, Commander," Niki said, "But the hull looks largely intact. That's a big ass freighter."

Kota stepped in front of them and pointed to a completely black shuttle just to the north. "Looks like somebody is already here," she said.

"The hell," Rex gasped as she began running toward the unknown shuttle. The hatch was still open on the vessel, so she put her hand on the door frame, looking in. No one was occupying it at the moment. "Hm, no indications that this might be a Cerberus shuttle. Whoever flew it here must be inside that ship."

"Looters maybe," Niki asked.

"We won't know until we investigate. Let's get inside that freighter," the commander replied, "We'll need to find a good place to enter the ship."

"Whoever was here didn't think anyone else would show up," Kota said kneeling down and pointing to the footprints in the sand, "If they're already inside, we can follow these to find a way in."

"Good eye, Kota," Rex said, "Let's go, but be ready for hostiles just in case." The other two squad members nodded to her and they began running towards the downed ship, following the foot prints. They eventually came up on a long vertical gaping hole on the side of the ship. It had to have been where the Reaper zapped the vessel. They quietly made their way into the ship. It was dark and sparks were still shooting out from various places in the wall and ceiling. "It's dark. Night vision everyone," Rex commanded. There were no goggles or interfaces that sprung onto their faces. Their eyes simply lit up glowing green, allowing them to be able to see in the darkest of dark. It was another gift the crucible had given everyone.

"It will be difficult for us to navigate the area as it is with it being sloped," Kota stated, "I suggest we split up and look around."

Rex stopped walking and held a finger to her lips and thought for a moment. "You might be right this time. Ok, let's do that, but keep in radio contact. Let me know if either of you find anything, got it?"

The doctor and the asari nodded to the commander before they went their separate ways, scouring the ship for any clues as to what happened. It didn't take long for everyone to start discovering the tall tale signs of Cerberus simply by the logos marked on the walls.

"I knew it had something to do with them," Rex said over their earpieces.

"Still doesn't explain why a Reaper would attack them out of nowhere," Kota said back.

"Maybe they were trying to kill it the same as the other Reaper you two found," Niki added.

"That Reaper showed no signs of fighting back. Other Reapers were attacked in the years recently following the war, but none fought back," Kota replied.

"So, what made this one finally decide to defend itself," Rex wondered.

"If it was even attacked," Kota said with an attitude.

Rex sighed, "You think I sympathize with them, but I do not. They shouldn't be forgiven for the pain they inflicted, but for Christ's sake, they did help put it back in one piece." There was no reply from the asari. "Kota? Hello? Kota…Goddamnit."

The new Spectre had, had enough excuses from the commander, so she turned her earpiece off. She refused to argue with Rex any further and began onward with her search for clues.

The commander whispered a plethora explicit words under her breath before walking across a part of the floor that sounded differently than the rest of the floor. She stopped in her tracks, walking backwards, hearing it again. So, she knelt down and knocked on it with her fist. It sounded hollow. "Hey, Niki," she said, "I think I got something over here. I'll send you my nav point. Meet me over here."

"Yes, ma'am, " Niki replied.

After a few moments, Niki had made her way down from the deck just above the one Rex was on. The commander had opened up a small secret door on the floor, the size of a manhole. "What have we got here," Niki said as she looked at Rex.

"A secret deck of the ship. How in the hell you have an entire secret floor on a vessel, is beyond me, but this is Cerberus we're dealing with."

"Yeah, I'll second you on that."

"Come on, let's get down there," Rex said as she began climbing down the ladder that connected to the door. The doctor followed shortly after.

The two of them climbed down into what looked like a lab. It was brightly lit, apparently the only part of the ship still maintaining power. The lab was mazed with hundreds of pods, containing God only knows what. The pods had a translucent shell over the glass allowing only the silhouettes of human bodies wearing armor to be visible.

"Oh my God," Niki half gasped and half whispered, "What were they doing?"

"Creating more of their husk like soldiers no doubt," Rex replied, "Let's look around on these consoles and see if we can't find out more about this crash."

The doctor complied and began typing on a console next to one of the pods, skimming through data. Rex began doing the same thing, but the console she was one kept glitching out due to damage. However, Niki began coming up on something that made her eyes grow wide with worry.

"Rex, I think I may have found out why the ship crashed," she started, "But I think I also found out what's up with these pods. And…well…it's bad. Real bad."

The commander blinked with a serious, yet wondering look as she walked over to Niki. She noticed there was a pod that had been opened and was empty as she passed by it, but didn't think anything of it. "What is it?"

"Well, the Reaper that attacked this ship may have very well been defending itself. This information doesn't explain why it defended itself, but they were trying to actually capture a Reaper. Not kill it. They wanted to take it and find out all the knowledge that Reapers withhold from us and figure out how to destroy them without another Crucible."

"And the pods?"

The doctor reached over to the tank next to the console and pressed a button allowing the shell to come down. What was in the pod caused the commander to take a step back, looking as if she had seen a ghost. "What. The. Fuck."

Within the tank was the figure of the most well known person in the galaxy. The Savior, Commander Shepard.

* * *

_emoh gnimoc mi taht dlrow eht llet_

* * *

**Oh no they didn't! Well, now we're getting somewhere, don't you think?**


	10. Chapter 10

**2286**

**Chapter 10**

The body of Commander Shepard was floating in the fluids of the tank that stood before Rex and Niki. Still in complete shock, Commander Williams went down the next five tanks, dropping their shells, revealing they all had a Shepard within them. Watching the commander going back and forth frantically to each tank in the rows, the doctor held a hand over her mouth, not having any words.

Suddenly stopping in her tracks, realizing what they had just discovered, Rex shouted, "This is a fucking insult! A disgrace! How could they do this?!" Angered, the soldier smashed her fist into an already broken console. After a moment, Rex was able to calm herself and she looked over to Niki. "We have to destroy this. All of it."

The doctor wringed her hand nervously, looking at the ground. "What if one of them is-."

"No. They're obviously only clones. None of them is the real Shepard," Rex cut her off.

Niki nodded reluctantly. "Well, this information says this isn't their only cloning facility. There will be more."

Rex walked back to her and looked at the first tank they revealed. "Then that's our mission. Seek and destroy them. If the public finds out about this…"

"It could trigger war," Niki finished her sentence.

"Right. People would demand action to be taken. The Alliance wouldn't hold back from sending fleets into the Terminus to find Cerberus. Get all the information available on that console. We need to find Kota and blow this place."

"Yes, ma'am," the doc replied as she turned back to the console.

"Well, well, what do we have here," was heard from the end of the aisle between the rows of tanks.

Rex quickly grabbed her pistol, spinning to the side pointing at the source of the voice. "Who's there," she shouted.

A woman stepped out from behind a tank, also pointing a pistol. She oddly looked like Shepard in the face, but instead she had longer blonde hair pulled back in a short pony tail, samurai style. Shepard's hair was short, light brown, and buzzed. Her eyes were also evergreen and Shepard's had been a grayish blue. "Dr. Vang," she spoke with an English accent, "It's a nice surprise to see you here."

The doctor had known that voice from anywhere and she suddenly stopped her work, pulling her own gun. "Kacie," she said with a scowl, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You know each other," Rex stated the obvious.

Niki glanced at Rex through the corner of her eyes. "Bounty hunter. She's been after me for years now."

"Aw, I'm hurt Vang," Kacie said sarcastically, "I thought you would have noticed I haven't been chasing you anymore."

"Then why are you here," Niki asked again.

Kacie put away her gun, boldly walking towards them. She usually knew whether or not she would actually be shot. "Personal matter," she replied, "Besides, there's money in finding information about Cerberus activities."

"Stay back," Rex shouted, taking a step further.

The bounty hunter gave an ignorant smirk. "If you were going to shoot me, you already would have. Besides, we're here for the same thing. We want to bring Cerberus down."

Niki and Rex huffed, slowly lowering their weapons. "Why are you after them," the Spectre questioned.

Kacie walked to the console Niki was working on, looking at the information. At a closer glance, the hunter had snake bite piercings and one small hoop earring in her right ear. A purple fleur de lis tattoo was slightly visibly under the collar of her black leather vest. The blonde was either really cocky or stupid as she didn't have one piece of armor on her body. Under her vest was just a black tight fitting t-shirt, and she was wearing a pair of black jeans. Her jeans' legs were tucked into her boots that had many metal buckles. "Christ, it isn't obvious," she said turning her head to give them a better look at her face. A long scar ran across her left cheek. "They created me, and when I didn't live up to their expectations, they tried to kill me."

"You mean," Rex started as she looked at Kacie's face and then Shepard's.

"I was the first one to be brought to life from what you see here. And you're right. None of these are the real Shepard. The real one is dead."

"What is Cerberus hoping to gain by this," Niki asked.

"Who knows. An army of the best soldiers maybe? Or maybe they're trying to bring the true Shepard back again? But we all know that's impossible," Kacie replied, "I don't care. I just want to find their leader and kill him. Oh, by the way, one of these creations I accidentally released earlier when I got here. Damn thing acts normal one minute, then the next it's crazy. You might want to go find your other friend."

Rex's eyes widened slightly as she looked at Niki. "Kota," she gasped before taking off towards the ladder they had previously come down, the doctor hot on her tail.

* * *

The asari Spectre was still searching around in the darkness of the ship's upper decks. Kota was starting to get frustrated because she hadn't come across anything yet that pointed what Cerberus' plans were for the Reaper weapon. All she kept finding were crates with various basic supplied used by colonists. She decided it would be a good time for a break and sat down on a crate beginning to collect her thoughts. She was still upset with Rex's defense of the Reapers, but she knew it wasn't the time nor place for the two of them to be having such disagreements. Kota didn't like it, but she would have to work with Rex in order to find out what Cerberus was up to. Suddenly a crate fell over a few feet ahead of her. The sound disrupted the asari's thoughts and she quickly rose to her feet, lifting her SMG. She got up against a stack of crates so she didn't have to duck down.

"Is someone there," she asked out into the darkness. There was no reply. The Spectre peered out from the box slightly, just enough to scan the immediate area. Just then she saw a figure's shadow go across the floor. She looked up to see the silhouette of someone trying to sneak by. She jumped out with her gun aimed. "Hold it right there!"

It was a woman in heavy black armor that didn't carry any sort of insignias as to where she might hail from. She froze up, her back to the Spectre, holding her hands up. "Sorry," she said in a familiar voice, "I didn't mean to alarm you. I was just trying to find my way out."

"Are you a survivor from the crash," Kota asked. _'Goddess, her voice sounds like…no it can't be.'_

"Crash? Uh, yeah, I guess."

"You guess," the asari said suspiciously, "Turn around. Very slowly. Keep your hands where I can see them. Do you work for Cerberus?"

"Cerberus," the woman said turning around, "Maybe."

Once the armored human female faced her, Kota's entire body froze. It felt like her heart suddenly stopped and blood went cold. As much as she wanted say something, her brain could not form words for her mouth. What she was seeing at the moment was incomprehensible. She didn't know it, but her breathing had sped up. All she knew was that Commander Shepard, who was supposed to be dead, was standing before her at this very moment. Kota spoke the only thing she could possibly think of with a ghost standing in front her. "F-father," she whispered.

As soon as the word slipped from the asari's mouth, Shepard's eyes went completely white with a faint bluish glow to them. Her face scrunched up into an ugly scowled as she began charging the young asari with her arms reaching towards her and a hideous roar coming from her mouth. Kota couldn't think straight at the moment. Her gun was still aimed at Shepard, but being still frozen over shock, she couldn't pull the trigger. A bullet went straight through the side of Shepard's skull not a moment too soon, dropping her to the ground immediately just a foot shy of Kota.

The gunshot snapped Kota out of her shock and she screamed loudly, "NO!" as Shepard hit the ground. She turned to her left to see Rex with her pistol raised. "What have you done," she shouted angrily at the human, "You just killed Shepard!"

"Not the real Shepard, I'm afraid," Kacie said as she stepped out from behind Rex, making her way to the dead body, going to one knee to inspect it, "Just a clone."

"Wh-what," Kota said in disbelief, "Who are you?"

Kacie looked up at the asari, "Kacie Hawk. It's a pleasure-."

"You have her face," Kota interrupted.

Rex walked over to them both. "Cerberus is making thousands of clones of the late commander. We found a secret facility at the bottom of the ship. Apparently, this 'Kacie' is one them turned against Cerberus."

"I-I see," Kota replied, still trembling a bit.

Just then, Ivy came over Rex's earpiece, "Commander, whatever you're doing down there, you might wanna wrap it up! There's a whole fleet of Cerberus ships closing in our position! We have to go! Now!"

"Damn, looks like they came to save their experiment," Niki said.

"Shit, we need to destroy this ship," Rex yelled.

"We don't have time," Kota replied.

"No need to worry. I already planted a number of bombs on this science lab," Kacie said as she got up, looking down at her omnitool, "Oh, look at that, we only have a minute left til they detonate."

"Why didn't you say anything," the commander shouted, "Everyone, let's go!"

The four of them began running down stairs, deck by deck to get to where they had entered. One bomb decided to go off early, jolting the entire ship. Rex and Kota both lost their balance and went falling down the rest of the stairs, the asari landing on top of the human. "Oof! Christ," Rex let out before Kota rolled off and helped her. The group finally made it to where they came in from, running out and as far away from the ship as they could get before the whole thing exploded.

Kota stopped a few feet short of their shuttle panting. "Cerberus has to pay for what they've done," she said, "Cloning a hero like that is an insult not just to the humans, but to all races."

Rex nodded her head in agreement. "Why didn't you take the shot in there," she asked, "You completely froze."

"Because I…she is," Kota was lost with her words. Telling Rex the truth would mean giving up a lot of secrets that she was not yet ready to expose. "I thought it was really Shepard. That's all."

"Hey, you two love birds, as nice as it is to stand around here and chat, we really should think about getting the bloody hell out of here," Kacie said, "And if you don't mind, I'd like to request your assistance in getting me out of here."

"Um, right," Rex nodded, "Follow our shuttle to the Normandy. We have extra space for another shuttle."

"Wait, you're gonna let her on the ship," Niki interrupted, "There's a bounty on my head that she's after!"

"Don't worry your pretty arse, sweetheart," Kacie said with a smirk, "There are more important things in this world than you. Still as big an ego as ever, eh Vang?" Receiving a glare from the doctor, Kacie winked to her and jumped into her shuttle to take off. Rex, Kota, and Niki got into their shuttle as well, taking the lead towards the Normandy.

* * *

Rex stumbled as she sprinted to the cockpit with Cerberus ships already beginning to rain fire down on them. "What are you waiting for?! Get us the hell out of here, Ivy!"

"Just waiting on you, ma'am," the redhead replied, "You might wanna hold on. It's going to be one hell of a ride. I've got to go straight through them to get to the relay."

"You can't skirt them?"

"It would take too long and they would easily fire on the hull. Don't worry, Commander. This ship was built with me in mind."

"What you mean?"

"Relax and take notes." With that, two small holographic consoles appeared at the ends of Ivy's arm rests and she placed her hands on them. Her eyes lit up green and her entire body froze stiff as a board. Suddenly, the ship took off straight into the line of enemy ships. It was dodging cannon fire and other ships faster than any expert organic pilot could ever imagine to do. Within minutes they had broken through and escaped into the relay. Ivy's eyes went back to normal and she relaxed back into her seat. "That was a walk in the park."

"What the hell was that," Rex asked, the look of astonishment on her face.

"I told you. The ship was built with me in mind. I can physically connect with the ship and give us a tactical advantage," the pilot replied.

Rex gave Ivy a confused look, not exactly understanding how that was possible. "I've never heard of anyone being able to do that. Regardless of our, 'advancements' through the green light."

"That's because I'm the only one known who can. Our bodies may have been changed, but I'm the only person known to be 'born' from an actual synthetic."

"Can you connect with other things?"

"I believe it is possible, but I've never tried it."

"I see. Well, take us to the Citadel. We need to report our findings to the Council. They need to know that a Reaper didn't deliberately attack a civilian ship. It wasn't even civilian."

"What exactly did you find down there?"

"Clones of Commander Shepard…"

"You can't be serious," Ivy looked back at her commander with a shocked look. "That's bullshit!"

"I know…we'll stop them."

The bounty hunter came walking into the cockpit. "You must have a damn good pilot if we've already gone through the relay."

Ivy turned her seat around to see the new guest. "Who the hell are you? And what's with your face? Commander, please tell me you didn't steal one of those clones."

Kacie laughed and sat in the empty seat to the right of Ivy. "Hah, steal? Hardly. Impressive ship you have here…um, I don't believe I caught your name, soldier."

"Alex Williams, but you can call me Rex," she replied, crossing her arms, "We can drop you off at the Citadel."

"Hm, no, you see, we both have the same goals in mind. I'm coming with you." The blonde grinned back at the commander.

Rex shook her head taking a step towards the Shepard look-a-like. "I can't have a bounty hunter on this ship who is after one of my own crew members."

"Niki? Please, if I wanted her, I would have taken her already. Hm, perhaps I'll stick around there. Seeing her…how do you say it? Boosts my morale? Besides, I have invaluable information on Cerberus that you don't have."

Rex narrowed her eyes, "Like what?"

"Like the locations of the rest of their cloning facilities," Kacie replied, knowing this was her ticket to staying on the Normandy.

"Ugh, damnit, fine," Rex gave in, "But if you start causing trouble with Dr. Vang, you're out."

"Hm," Kacie sat, thinking for a moment, "Oh I can't promise that, but if there is any trouble, it won't be the bad kind, I can promise you that." She got up with a laugh, walking out of the cockpit.

* * *

Liara was sifting through various information on the broker network when her private terminal alerted her to a new message. She lifted her head and walked over to the terminal, opening her messages. The subject read, 'Cerberus' New Lazarus Project.' _'Lazarus? They can't be.'_ She immediately opened the message, reading it.

'Thought you might want to know what Cerberus' new objectives are. If there were any a time for you to come out from hiding, now would be it, Mother.'

Within the message were numerous attachments of information regarding the Shepard clones, including pictures that Rex Williams and her crew took of the cloning facility on the downed Cerberus freighter that was attacked by a Reaper. Liara gasped when she saw a picture of a clone of her one true love in a tank. There was also a photo of the new Normandy crew member, Kacie Hawk, who was the first of the clones. Dr. T'soni stood there silent for a few moments, her blood boiling. Her nose scrunched up and her lips pressed together before a biotically charged fist smashed through her console. "Those bastards!"

* * *

"Why am I finding out about one of our cloning facilities being destroyed," the man in the darkness said, "I thought you were going to take care of Commander Williams."

"The destruction of that facility was done by one of our own," the woman said stepping into some light. She was another Shepard clone. "She has also managed to board the Normandy under the story that she is fighting us."

"I see," he replied taking a drag of his cigarette, "Very well then. And the Reaper we've captured?"

"It is no longer fighting back, but it seems to be blocking us out in finding information on its weapons systems."

"It will, for now, but we will have the upper hand soon. We are getting close to capturing the Shadow Broker. The Reaper will open up then."


	11. Chapter 11

**2286**

**Chapter 11**

A soldier decked out in green camouflage ran towards an old structure built of splintering wood. Bullets narrowly missed his feet as they hit the dry dirt beneath his worn out combat boots causing dust to spiral up. He made it into the building, taking cover behind its walls. He tightly gripped the handle and barrel of the M16 in his hands, panting and trying to catch his breath. At the same time he was trying to be as silent as possible so as to not alert any other enemy soldiers within his vicinity. The man pressed his lips together and began breathing through his nose as his breaths came slower. The bulky green helmet he wore sat tilted to the side on his head, the straps hanging at the sides of his dirt and sweat coated face. He began to peer out from cover, his eyes darting from side to side to see if his pursuer was still around, hoping to make a run for it. Alas, it was already too late. Unbeknownst to him, his enemy had come around the other side of his shelter, found a crack between the two by fours and…

"Boom! Headshot!" Han shouted out as he jumped from his seat, hands flailing in the air. After doing a small victory dance, he sat back down. "One more kill for me or Rex and the round is over."

Grant's jaw had dropped in disbelief as his character on Rex's size-of-the-wall screen fell to his death. "What the hell, man," the husk said, tapping the strip of metal across his forehead, "Is this thing working right? How come I didn't hear you go all the way around there?"

The commander looked over at Huskins, who was sitting with Han on a couch they had stolen from the lounge. Rex was sitting on her bed, giving them a stupid grin. "Perks, baby, perks," Rex said in a hyped up voice before taking a sip from a white can with silver claw marks on the side.

The three of them were enjoying some downtime before they reached the Citadel by playing some army games based on human history. Rex and Han could have been masters in the vid game world, the golden-eyed alien only being slightly better than the human. This was Grant's first time playing vid games. At first he declined the invitation, but the commander wouldn't take no for an answer. She was not easily dissuaded, especially when she was trying to get the Husk to socialize more.

Han was wearing some casual turian clothing with red and navy blue patterns. Grant was in his usual Alliance pants, but wearing a black t-shirt that had a great deal of contrast with the part of the wires in his arms that were glowing. Also, the glow of the circle on his abdomen was visible through the dark cloth. Rex was comfortably dressed in nothing but a black tank and a pair of black shorts with a white and red stripe down the right side.

"Actually, I think someone is a screen looker," Grant said, shooting Han a glare.

"Pssh, please, I could take both of you down with my eyes closed," the turian replied, but just as soon as he did, his human sniper on screen was stuck with a grenade and blown to little pieces.

"Uh, what were you saying," Rex asked him, looking completely oblivious to what she had just done with her own character without Han looking.

"Aw, that was a cheap shot!"

The commander jumped from her bed, the blankets falling part of the way into the floor. Both of her hands went up causing some of her drink to splash out from its container. "Oh yeah, who's like me," she shouted as the game ended, and she chugged the rest of her energy soda. Rex plopped back down and grinned smugly at them as she shoved her hand into a bag of chips. If Han had enough digits, she knew he'd be giving her the twins right now.

A chime came from the back door of Rex's cabin. This meant someone needed to speak with her, but didn't want anyone else on board to know since it connected to the comm room on the other side of the elevator. For anyone knew, that person could simply be just going to the room to phone home, and whenever someone went in there, whether to actually get in contact with someone or to speak with the commander, the door locked so that no one could go in and see if that person had secretly gone to the captain's cabin. Rex turned to the two and held a hand up as in to say, "Sorry guys, play time is over."

Once the commander shooed away her two new friends, she walked to the door and opened it, expecting to see anyone but who was in front of her. She tried not to look so surprised that Kota had wanted to speak with her without the other crew knowing. "Uh, Kota. What's up? Come on in," she greeted the asari as she stepped to the side letting her in. Rex rubbed the back of her neck nervously because she was a bit embarrassed by the lack of organization in her room. Spectre status and N7 be damned, Rex could be as messy as a child, and she always heard it from her mother when she went home to visit. She didn't know why it embarrassed her in front of Kota because it certainly didn't bother her with the guys.

Kota looked around, noticing a towel thrown over a railing, the commander's jacket laying in the floor, and her bed a complete wreck. "My, does the Alliance not teach organization skills," the asari asked.

The human rolled her eyes, only slightly annoyed by the comment. "They do. It just never stuck with me," she replied, "Anyways, you wanted to speak with me?" She took a seat on the edge of her bed and motioned for the other Spectre to sit on the couch.

"Yes," Kota said as she sat with her arms and legs crossed, "I just wanted to thank you for saving me back on Virmire, and apologize for my initial reaction to shooting the clone."

Rex just waved the comments away, "Ah, it's no big deal. Just doing my job. Besides, I was pretty shocked at seeing a ghost my damn self."

Kota tilted her head, nodding slightly, "Thank you for understanding. That was all I wanted to say." She released her arms and put her hands to her sides ready to get up, but the commander held her hand out to stop her.

"Come on, Kota. I just want to get to know you. Tell me more about yourself? Please?" Rex gave her a pleading look.

Kota gave a reluctant sigh before sitting forward with her forearms resting against her thighs. "Fine. I suppose that's the least I can give you for practically saving my life." As the human leaned in closer with curiosity, she reached her hand out to the commander's face to brush away some chip crumbs from the corner of her lips. It had been bothering her since she walked into the cabin. Kota had never felt human flesh before and didn't realize how smooth and soft it was. A faint flush raced across Rex's cheeks as the hand was pulled away. The asari noticed the blush, but said nothing because for one, she didn't know how to react to it since she had never had special feelings for anyone before, and two, she recalled herself almost turning completely purple when she caught a glance of the commander's half naked upper body. Silence befell them for a few moments.

"Well, let's have it out then," Rex said, breaking the awkward moment.

The asari turned her head to face the wall across the room. "My mother is an information broker. She is so buried in her work all the time. We hardly get along. She doesn't agree with how I've lived my life as a commando. Apparently, I take too much after my father and it worries her."

"What about your dad? What is he like?"

"She…I never knew her personally. She died in the Reaper War. My mother had a feeling she wouldn't return so, on a whim, she finished a genetic mapping before my father went off. I only know of what I've seen in my mother's memories. From what I saw, she was a strong, fearless woman."

"I can see why your mom sees your father in you then."

Kota blinked as she turned to face the human who was giving her a gentle look. "What do you mean?"

"You're also strong and fearless. Maybe a bit hardheaded, but nonetheless, you've impressed me so far."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Shoot."

"You're real name is Alex. Why do you go by Rex?"

"Hehe, well," Rex started as she rubbed a long faded, almost invisible scar between her eyebrows.

_Almost every former Normandy member was meeting for the 55__th__ anniversary of the end of the war. At this time, they had been gathering at ground zero, which was the final running ground to the beam in London. Wrex hadn't been able to join in the past years as he was overseeing the reconstruction of Tuchanka, but since that was near completion, he thought he should at least go to visit the others on the special occasion. _

_Two small human children, twins, were running around, the girl angry at the boy. She suddenly tackled her brother and began beating on him as she had him pinned down. "Ow! Ow! Mommy!" Kaiden screamed out, holding his arms up to block Alex's swings._

"_So help me, God, if you two don't start behaving," Ashley growled as she stomped towards them. _

_Suddenly, a Krogan hand had grabbed Alex from the back of her shirt, pulling her up in her air to face him. "Do you not know how to mind your mother, welp," he sneered._

"_Who are you?" Alex glared at him. Any other child would have been terrified by the sight._

"_Urdnot Wrex," he grumble, noticing the character, Blasto, on her shirt, "I bet you're as squishy as the hanar on your clothing. Better learn your manners kid."_

"_You better learn your manners, squishy Wrex!" She exclaimed before suddenly smashing her forehead into the middle point of the shell that covered the Krogan's head. The headbutt was hard enough to split the skin between her brows, crimson liquid suddenly running down her face. Alex didn't realize anything was wrong, so she laughed loudly at the complete shock in Wrex's eyes._

_While he didn't even feel a budge from the head smash, Wrex was thrown off by the bold action itself. Suddenly, he began to laugh with her. "I like this kid! She's got a quad!" He sat her down._

_Ash ran up, kneeling down to her daughter to inspect her busted head. "Jesus Christ Alex, what are you thinking?!"_

"_Wrex!" Alex shouted._

"_Yes, yes, Wrex. He's a friend. Now let's go get you cleaned up." Ashley began pulling her away._

"_And now she can be a little Wrex," the Krogan bellowed, laughing._

Being very amused by the story, Kota let out a small chuckle. "So, you split your head open on a Krogan shell as a small child. No wonder you are the way you are," she said with a playful smirk.

Feeling only slightly insulted, but deciding to play along, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" This made Kota laugh, which she was hoping for. Rex enjoyed sight of the asari smiling and loosening up for once. It was a nice change. She hoped this wouldn't be the last of it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kacie was setting up an easel with a large blank canvas right smack dab in the mess hall. She reached down into a leather bag, extracting some containers of paint and many brushes along with a palette. Many of the other crew in the hall gave her strange glances, but then shrugged and went on about their business.

Niki had finished filing a few reports just as her stomach gave her a growl of hunger. "Yeah, yeah," she replied to her pleading organ, "I hear you. Time to eat." She pushed out from her desk and got up. When she walked into the mess hall, the last thing she was expecting to see was Hawk wearing a beret. At first she giggled inside, but managed to prevent acting it out. Instead, she walked over to the bounty hunter with a disapproving look. "And just what are you doing?"

Kacie, in the middle of mixing some colors, turned her head to the doctor. "I am painting ze scene in frontz of me," she replied with a really bad French accent.

The doctor's palm went to her face as she shook her head. "Why don't you do that using a vid screen or something, you know, up to date? You're crowding the mess hall."

"Oh, but you see, mademoiselle, tis not tangible what you speak of. Not real. And you seem to be the only one complaining. Perhaps, ze beautiful lady would like to be in front and center wiz a portrait of herself?"

"Hah, whatever, in your dreams, crook," Niki said, rolling her eyes as she began to walk off.

Kacie quickly sat her brush down and grabbed the doctor's upper arm firmly pulling her back to face her. "Hey, I'm not a bloody crook," she spat, going back to her normal English accent.

"Oh yeah, that's right, just a hired killer, right?" The doctor scowled angrily at her.

Hawk, sighing, released the doc's arm before turning her back. "I told you, I'm not after you anymore, nor will I ever be again. I was just trying to make friends. It's the least I can do," she said solemnly as she began to make a few strokes onto the white canvas. Painting and drawing had been a past time hobby of hers, and most thought it was weird of her to be a bounty hunter and artist at the same time. She did a lot of landscapes and scenery, but she mostly enjoyed painting beautiful women when she got the chance. Most thought it odd that she used such an inefficient way to create art, but to her, it wasn't inefficient, it was traditional.

As much as Niki wanted to stay mad at the hunter and hold a grudge, it wasn't in her person to do so. "Ergh, why do you make it so hard to stay mad at you, Goddamnit. Fine," she huffed and went to find her something to eat. Kacie smirked inwardly at this reaction as she continued painting.

* * *

Out in the Terminus, a large fleet of ships carrying the Cerberus logo were approaching a small station that was cleverly disguised as a disabled fuel depot. They were obviously looking for something or someone important as the ships went into to encompass the small depot. Shepard Clone 2077 boarded the depot from her ship with about five normal Cerberus soldiers following her lead. "The Broker must be around here somewhere. Start searching," she ordered. Each soldier gave a nod with a small grunt before trotting off in different directions.

The clone began her own search, going to every terminal she could find to search. To her dismay, the consoles held not one piece of data. Everything was empty. She made it to the central operations room where she saw a private terminal that was alerting with a new message. With a smirk on her face 2077 walked to the terminal and opened the console, feeling accomplished.

'Hope you had a nuclear time searching for me,' was all the message read before the console literally crashed in sparks. Just then, the elevator across the room opened up with a huge mushroom shaped object sitting in the center. The circular blue lights on the top of the bomb blinked twice before turning red.

The Shepard clone's eyes widened before she said, "Oh sh-."

The entire station was suddenly a white ball of quickly expanding light. Rings of light expanded out, obliterating all the ships in the Cerberus fleet almost in an instant.

_**I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone for the kind reviews. Every single one of them really warms my heart and encourages me to keep going. I'm so inspired by you guys so I just wanted to express again my appreciation for your words. **_


	12. Chapter 12

**2286**

**Chapter 12**

The Markets of the Citadel were bustling with heavy business from the human race this time of year as it was holiday season for many of their kind. Rex came walking out of a shop wearing what Kota thought was an odd looking hat that was red and shaped like a cone, but floppy and had a white fluffy band on the bottom and matching ball on the tip.

"I love Christmas shopping," Rex said with a grin, "Too bad none of them care that if I'm Commander Williams and their shop is my favorite. No discounts for me."

"Christmas is a human tradition I'm assuming," Kota inquired.

"Yeah, for a lot, but not all celebrate it," the human replied, "It's a commercial holiday, but it's based on religion. Other religions have different holidays."

"And what do you do on this Christmas?"

"It usually involves a tree in one's home decorated with many lights, presents under it for everyone, and a big jolly guy in this hat and matching outfit sneaking into people's homes to leave more presents."

"And this is a religious holiday," Kota said, slightly amused.

"Well, Christmas was originally marked to be the birth of Jesus Christ, whom Christianity revolves around. It still stands for that, but throughout the years, many people have started to forget the true meaning of Christmas."

"I see. Humans are a strange race."

"Is that because we have so many different holidays and you only have like, what, one? Janiris isn't it?"

"Yes, it marks the beginning of a new year. We make wreathes from flowers and give them friends or loved ones. I haven't celebrated that in ages."

Rex decided to pocket that bit of information in the back of her mind for later use. She opened a container of water she purchased from the store she just came out of. "Why not? What about your mother," she asked before taking a sip.

"Like I said we haven't-."

"Spoken face to face in two decades," came a familiar soft voice that echoed a bit of coldness came from behind them, "But I suppose the Karma that humans believe in has come to me as I did the same to my mother."

Kota spun around, knowing her mother's voice from a mile away. "By the Goddess, mother?"

The commander shot water from her nose as Liara T'soni walked towards them in realization of just who Kota's parents were. _'Christ, I've been scolding Commander Shepard's kid.' _"Agh," she groaned as she felt like she had nearly drown, "Y-you never said anything about…if I had known-."

"You would have given special treatment. That's why I didn't say anything," Kota explained before turning towards her mother, "What are you doing here?"

"Heeding your words of advice to come out of hiding," Liara replied, "Cerberus came after me. I left them a nice surprise when I discovered their plans to capture me."

The human pulled a small cloth from her pocket and wiped her face of water before cleaning up her mess on the floor. After discarding the cloth, she turned to Kota's mother and tilted her head in respect. "Dr. T'soni, I'm Commander Williams, pleasure to meet you."

"Yes, I know. Kota forwarded me the information you've recovered on Cerberus," T'soni said in a cold tone as she recalling the images of the clones.

After Rex shot her a small and quick glare, Kota replied, "I know, I know. Classified information. I had to, though." She turned, taking a few steps away from them. "I thought she had the right to know what they were doing since it involves my father."

"Kota, I should take you off this mission for-," the commander started.

"Then do it. I don't care anymore," the other Spectre turned to face them again, scowling.

"No," Rex said simply.

"What?"

"You've proven yourself to me. You're a great asset to the team. Plus, now I'm even more curious about you now that I know who you really are," Rex said, a sly grin forming on her face, "However, now you don't have a choice but to open up to me. Now, I will be off to do more shopping. I'm sure you two have some catching up to do."

Kota went to speak, but the commander was already walking off to other shops. She shook her head and then glared at Liara. "Thanks a lot, Mother," she huffed.

"You're welcome," Liara said as she watched the human walk away, "Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into?"

"Excuse me?"

The Shadow Broker turned back to her daughter, shooting her a more serious look, "You don't see it? She cares about you. I certainly hope you aren't leading her on. We still do not know how long our lives have expanded. Humans could still live significantly shorter lives-."

"Goddess, Mother, you read too much into things. She doesn't have feelings for me and vice versa. And besides, even if it were like that, you bonded with father. You certainly weren't thinking about life spans," Kota argued in a slightly elevated voice.

Liara put a gloved hand on her hip giving Kota her signature smirk. She was wearing her normal white and blue Shadow Broker outfit. "No, you do not read deep enough. Perhaps, you take after me more than I thought. Whatever the case, I will be happy for you. Just…if you do feel something for her, do not push it aside. I've made the same mistake, and it is my biggest regret." There was still sorrow in her voice.

The younger asari held a hand up and shook her head. "Ok, got it, Mom, but you're wrong. We don't have feelings for each other. We have bigger things to worry about anyways."

* * *

Two human hands landed on top of Councilor Tevos' desk, nearly making her jump out of her skin. The asari looked up from her datapad, to see Rex Williams scowling back at her. She laid down the datapad she had been so concentrated on, which apparently kept her from hearing the door to her office open.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Rex demanded angrily.

"I beg your pardon," Tevos asked, shock still written across her face.

The human lifted back up holding her hands out. "You never said I was taking Shepard's kid under my wing!"

Tevos got up from her seat and walked to the large balcony behind her desk that overlooked the Prisidium, her hands behind her back. "To protect her," she replied.

"From what? Me?"

"The entire galaxy. If everyone knew Kota was the child of Commander Shepard, she would be the target of many dangerous people. Do you think the Batarians have forgotten about Aratoht? Shepard's enemies will inherently become Kota's enemies if they knew who she was."

"You could have at least told me. It's not like I'm going to go shouting it from the rooftops."

"It was her request that I did not inform you. I insisted that you were to be trusted. She said that she would let you know if it were necessary. It was the least I could do in Shepard's name after my mistakes."

"Well, it seems like the mission just made it necessary," Rex said as she dropped a data pad onto the councilor's desk.

Tevos blinked and walked back to her desk. "What do you mean," she asked as she grabbed the tablet and began reading the report, "This…this is very troubling." The councilor pinched the bridge of her nose and took a moment to think. "Have you shown this to Councilor Nixon?"

The commander shook her head and replied, "No. I didn't think I should. I think if he sees this, he'll order the Alliance to send fleets into the Terminus. He's an old soldier, he would demand action. That would trigger war, would it not? I figured I could trust you."

"Well, you're wrong about Nixon," Tevos said, "Though, not for a lack of judgment. He wouldn't compromise our current 'project' with war."

"Project," Rex gave an inquisitive look, "What project?"

Tevos walked around to the other side of her desk and leaned against it as she crossed her arms. "What I'm about to tell you must not leave this office, am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Rex gave her a sincere nod.

"Councilor Nixon and I have joined together with a secret alliance between the asari and humanity…and the Reapers. We have teams stationed on the rim of the galaxy building an intergalactic mass relay."

"Wh-what?"

"With our live spans having an unknown cap, we will no doubt eventually deplete the resources of this galaxy, no matter how large it may be. At first, we thought maybe this new gift of longevity might keep us from overpopulation, but the birthrates went off the charts soon after the war ended. Even if we imposed laws making each couple allowed only one child like the Quarians do, we would still outnumber the resources for this galaxy in the coming ages."

"Right. And it's not like you can just order someone to execution for being a certain age."

"Correct. Therefore, we will need to expand. It's inevitable. Once we complete this relay, we will send a fleet through to Andromeda, the closest galaxy to ours, with the resources needed to build another relay to get back and forth. The Reapers' knowledge on the technology is helping us a great deal."

"The problem with your plan," Rex said, "There will surely be new races on the other side of that door. They might not take kindly to visitors."

Tevos let out a small sigh. "We know that…but if we 'uplift' them, they are likely to become our allies."

"Well, we know what happened with the Krogan when the Salarians uplifted them."

"That's why we have history, to keep us from repeating past mistakes. Unfortunately, we do not know what will happen until we get to that bridge," the councilor said clasping her hands together, "And it is still far into the future. I do have a favor to ask of you, though."

"What is it?"

Tevos began pacing back and forth in between Rex and her desk. "The Reaper who was overseeing their operations on the relay has gone off the radar. We think Cerberus may be involved. If they find out what we are up to, they will surely try to expose it to the public. The Reapers have been attacked for years now by small terrorist organizations. They usually just escape. They have never defended themselves. But we know that if you have a big enough fleet, it can take down one single Reaper."

"You think they got the one that downed that freighter. And that it's the one you said went missing, right?"

The asari councilor nodded before walking back around behind her desk to take her seat. "The Reapers will only run away for so long. Eventually, they are going to start fighting back just like any other intelligent being would. If they start attacking, some would see it as an attack on everyone in the galaxy."

"Yeah, I can see why. Alright, I'll look for your Reaper. And I promise I will stop Cerberus. Perhaps Dr. T'soni can prevent any leaks on your project if Cerberus tries anything," Rex said before walking towards the door.

"No," Tevos shook her head, "No one can know of the project until we are ready. Don't worry, we will intercept any information Cerberus may try to-…wait, did you say Dr. T'soni? As in Liara T'soni?"

"Uh, yeah," Rex said, "She is on the Citadel right now. You didn't know?"

The councilor looked down at the data pads on her desk. "If she has come out of hiding after all these years, things are worse than we thought. You should take her with you. Please, make haste." Williams just gave a nod before walking out of the councilor's office.

* * *

"It seems I've underestimated Dr. T'soni," said the man in the shadows. He was becoming aggravated, but he gave no indication of it. "Tell operative Damian Brent to intercept Williams and her team when they arrive at the next facility that Hawk directs them to," he ordered.

"Yes sir," replied the clone.

"I want him to take them out," he said as he ashed his cigarette, "They are becoming…bothersome."

"And agent Hawk?"

"She is expendable," he replied, blowing out a puff of smoke.

* * *

While on shore leave, Venz decided he would do some Christmas shopping himself. He thought he might get Ivy a gift since they had become friends since serving together. They usually chatted over the speakers during the time in between relay jumps. The sergeant also figured he should get something for Commander Williams. While he was passing by the various shops in the Wards, he noticed Kacie Hawk arguing with one of the shop owners, so he decided to stop by and see what the ruckus was all about.

"Come on, I swear I'm Commander Shepard. You should give me a discount," Kacie shouted at the shop owner.

Venz walked up to the counter to stand next to Hawk. "Uh, is everything alright?"

"Hey, Venny, tell this idiot I'm the real Commander Shepard," Kacie said, patting Venz on the back and giving him a wink. She was trying her best to cover her accent.

The Russian blinked and looked at Kacie, "But you're not. What are you trying to do?"

The salarian shopkeeper pointed his finger at the clone. "Hah! I knew it! I should call security over here at once."

"Gah, this guy is trying to rip me off," Kacie said as she narrowed her eyes at the amphibious alien, "I'm just trying to buy a nice gift for Dr. Vang."

"Niki," asked Venz, "What for? I thought she hated you."

"Ah, but you see, there is a fine line between love and hate," Hawk replied, "In my attempts to woo her, I'm trying to acquire some medi-gel upgrades at a reasonable price. But this salarian is a common thief it seems."

The sergeant shook his head, "Yeah, that's never going to work." He turned and walked out of the shop, nearly having to duck to not hit his head on the top of the entrance.

"Hmph, you're no fun," Kacie stated, crossing her arms over her chest before she turned back to the salarian, "Fine, I'll purchase your goods at the asking price."

* * *

Later that evening, everyone was returning to the Normandy, including Liara. She and Rex both had to convince Kota it would be for the best if she came along with them. Liara wouldn't dare decline the offer to join their team. She never usually wished death on someone with such ease, but after seeing what the mockery they had made of her love, she wanted to see every last Cerberus operative dead.

She had stepped onto the elevator to go up to the squad rooms of the ship, but before the elevator closed, a blonde came running up holding a small sealed crate in her hands. Kacie stuck her foot in between the doors to stop them.

"Phew, that was a close," she said walking onto the lift, "These things aren't fast enough to wait for it to come back down." Hawk looked over to see the asari staring at her with wide eyes. At first, she thought she was getting onto the elevator with Kota, but she knew the face that was staring back at her from memories that Cerberus had forced into her mind, much the same way Okeer forced such visions and pictures into Grunt's mind. Kacie gulped and just turned to face the control panel of the small space as the elevator began to rise.

Being on the same ship as one of the clones of Shepard wasn't something Dr. T'soni had thought through thoroughly. While there were many things different about Hawk, she still had Shepard's face and voice, though in a different accent. Perhaps this was another form of Karma biting her in the rear for not being there when Shepard yearned for her. She decided to also not look at the other being in the elevator with her. It was silent until the elevator doors opened, both of them trying to exit at the same time. They were both anxious to get out and get away from each other.

Kacie backtracked, stepping to the side and nodded to Liara, "Uh, y-you go ahead."

Liara remained silent as she quickly walked out and towards her new quarters. Kacie let out a long held sighed before she walked out as well. She felt a pang of guilt in her gut, but she didn't know why. She wasn't really Shepard. _'Must be from the shit Cerberus crammed into my head. I'm not really Shepard, and I have a thing for Niki. Just…feels weird. God, what am I doing? I have a pansy little crush on Vang, but at the same time I'm here to sabotage them. Ugh, what am I going to do? Why couldn't Cerberus make me without feelings? Oh, right, I'm a screw up. Maybe that's all I'm good for…'_


	13. Chapter 13

**2286**

**Chapter 13**

Dr. Niki Vang was in the middle of searching the extranet in order to kill her boredom. She was currently browsing through various memes, a web trend started way back in the early 21st century, when it was just the Internet. They were currently en route to the location that Kacie gave for one of the Cerberus cloning facilities. She giggled at one of the posts of crude humor she came across on her screen when there was a knock at her door. Niki looked up from her entertainment and said, "Come in."

The door slid open and Hawk walked through with the smile she always carried on her face. Niki hadn't been surprised. The other blonde had been trying to come on to her since she boarded the Normandy. Vang rolled her eyes as Kacie made her way to her desk. "What is it this time?"

Hawk grinned big, setting a small crate on the doctor's desk. It was the gift she had bought for Niki the previous day when they were at the Citadel. "I have a present for you," she replied.

"If you're proposing to me, you have poorly misjudged my ring size," Vang said as she went to open the metal crate.

Kacie was a bit taken back by the statement, but didn't show it. Instead she laughed, "My, my, a little quick, aren't we? You haven't even taken me out to dinner yet."

The doctor rolled her eyes once again at the comment before looking into the box. "Oh, what do we have here," she said as she reached in, pulling out a small circular device that looked like a large make up compact, "Oh wow, it's the newest medi-gel upgrade. This will make the use of our medi-gel more effective. We will have to use 20% less of it on a wound. I've been looking for this for a while. Nice! Thanks!"

Hawk crossed her arms with a smile, "I believe this makes me eligible for a date?"

A faint blush crept onto the doctor's cheeks as she looked up at the bounty hunter. _'She's really serious about liking me? I thought she was just joking around, being naturally flirtatious.' _Vang gulped slightly before answering nervously, "Uh, yeah, sure. Why not?"

"Hah! And Venny said it would never work," Hawk said triumphantly.

"What? Was this a bet between you two?" Niki tapped her foot, crossing her arms.

"Huh? No, no. I'm serious," Kacie held her hands up in defense, "He just tried to dissuade me from this saying it wouldn't work."

"Oh, ok, got it," Vang said understandingly.

"So, what would you like to do?"

"Well, we are practically trapped on this ship, so how about dinner in the mess hall later this evening?"

Kacie smirked and gave a nod of her head, "Sounds good. I'll see you there."

* * *

Rex was in her usual place when she was trying to kill time, the cargo bay. At the moment, she was hanging from a bar, doing pull ups. "Ninety..five, ninety..six," she grunted out as she counted her reps. Two fifty pound disc weights were hanging from her feet, and like always, her body was drenched in sweat. She had to wear gloves since her hands were so sweaty, so as to not slip from the bar. After making it to one hundred, she dropped down from the bar and took off the weights. She took one of the weights with her to the center of the matted floor where she laid down near her punching bag. Rex hugged the weight to her chest, bent her knees to bring her feet closer to her rear, and began doing sit ups.

Kota was completing the tour of the ship she was giving to her mother when she brought the elevator down to the cargo bay. "And this is of course the cargo bay," she said as she walked out with her mother. She should have, but wasn't expecting to see the human commander in her usual workout spot. "A-and also the commanders workout post," she added as her face turned a light purple.

A smirk grew on Dr. T'soni's face as she watched her daughter stare at the human, remembering her own reaction to the view of Shepard's body at first. "And you claim there's nothing between you two," said the information broker as she began her descent down the stairs that led towards where Rex was.

"Wh-wha? Grr," Kota growled as she followed her mother down the steps with her fists clenched. She didn't like it when people assumed how she felt. Her mother had no right insinuating that she had some special feelings towards Commander Williams. _'I don't really feel that way…do I? No! I don't! There's nothing wrong with appreciating a nice looking body…and the commander is so nice to me. Bullshit! She has scolded you on several occasions! Yeah, but I was being kind of stupid…Agh! Just stop!' _Her mind was fighting with itself and she didn't want to think thoughts like that anymore at the moment.

Liara walked to where Rex was and knelt down. "My, someone has certainly worked up a sweat," she said looking down at the human.

"Ergh, Dr. T'soni," Rex grunted in between reps, "Good…to see…you….can I…help you?"

"Kota was just giving me a tour of the new Normandy," she replied, "It's a very nice ship. Much like the previous one."

"Yeah…it's nice," Rex said, wondering why they felt the need to talk to her in the middle of her workout.

"And I'm sure its commander is a great as the one before it," the older asari added as she got up.

The statement made Rex stop her workout. She put the weight down at her side and hopped up from the floor, panting. "I'm sure the Alliance nor the Council is trying to make me replace Shepard," Rex said as she was trying to catch her breath, "Even if I carry her name, I don't think I or anyone else could live up to Shepard's example."

Liara just gave her a nod before turning to walk away.

"But it doesn't mean I can't try," the commander added causing Liara to stop, "I have grown up listening to the stories my entire life. It's what made me want to join the Alliance. I want to fight and protect people who I care about." She made a small and very quick glance to Kota, hopeful neither of them would notice. Kota didn't because she was turned away trying to focus her attention on other things besides the commander's body. However, Liara was now turned to face Rex so as to hear her out. "Even if they don't care about me," Rex finished. At that moment, Rex remembered when she was invited to train at 'the Villa' or 'N-School.'

"_N7 training already," Wrex said to the younger Rex as they walked through a busy corridor of a business center on Tuchanka, "Living up to that name pretty fast, kid."_

"_Yeah, I dunno, Uncle Wrex," Rex replied with worry in her voice._

_The Krogan stopped in his tracks, which made the human stop as well. "What? You scared?"_

_Rex blinked and looked up at her uncle. "Hell yes I'm scared," she replied in an elevated voice, "Some people don't come back alive from the Villa. I've wanted this all my life, yes, but now that it's a reality, I…"_

"_Then don't do it," Wrex said._

"_What?" She gave him a shocked look._

"_If you're so scared, don't do it," he said once again, "But I won't call you Rex anymore. And you had better change your name."_

"_Excuse me?"_

_The Krogan narrowed his red eyes and stepped closer to the human, grabbing the collar part of her armor as he looked her dead in the eye. "You think Shepard gave a damn about what her fears were when she sent a Mako through a mass relay and crash landed it on the Citadel to stop Saren? You think she let fear cloud her judgment when she passed through the Omega-4 relay, knowing there was a chance she may never make it out? Or what about when she beamed herself to the Citadel to stop the Reapers?! You think her fear halted her?! If you're going to let something like a tiny human emotion called 'fear' stop you from something you've dreamed of doing, you'll never make it even an inch towards Shepard's shoes." With that, he let go of her collar with a shove._

_Rex stumbled back a bit, but didn't lose her balance. She was a bit shocked from the earful she had just received, but decided to think about what he had said._

It was from that day forward, Rex had become a different person, and decided to do everything she could to be more and more like Shepard. She knew that in order for her to actually live up to the dead soldier's standards, something like the Reapers would have to wreak havoc on the galaxy. She never wished for something like that. She didn't even wish for this Cerberus situation to rise just so she could try to be more like Shepard, but she would do her job, her duty, to protect people, just like Shepard would. Rex never expressed it to anyone, but the Savior of the Galaxy was her idol.

"Then you may yet accomplish feats that some only dream of," Liara replied softly, giving Rex a gentle and approving smile.

"Hey, commander," Ivy said over the speakers, "We're coming up on that facility. ETA is thirty minutes."

Rex looked up towards the ceiling. "Thanks Ivy. I gotta grab a shower, then I'll be up."

"Roger that," the pilot replied.

The commander looked back at Dr. T'soni, "Looks like we have work to do. I want you and Kota to go with me."

"Then we shall suit up," Liara replied as she turned to walk to the elevator that Kota had already summoned, Rex following close behind.

* * *

About half an hour later, Kacie was in the CIC waiting for Rex to show up. Sure enough, the elevator doors swished open and Rex walked out.

"Why aren't you taking me with you?" Hawk asked the commander.

"Because I want to see how it is working with Dr. T'soni. I want to take her on the field with me today," Rex replied.

"Ok, but you always take Kota with you," Kacie stated, "Why don't you let me go with you instead of Kota? I have studied the layout of this place thoroughly. I can help you."

"Hm, you have a point," Rex said, "But I still need Kota. Never really thought about take three with me, but I guess it couldn't hurt. Hurry and get suited up."

"I don't wear armor," the blonde said with a smirk, "It slows me down."

"You're a biotic?"

"That, and well, when Cerberus made me, they gave me some advancements. I'm faster than any other human in the galaxy. Never been hit by a bullet, but," Hawk stopped as she brushed her fingers over the scar on her cheek, "Well, let's just say there's a Cerberus operative who is a long time rival and I hope to kill him someday for this hideous mark he left on my beautiful face."

"Why don't you just go to a doctor to get them to fix it if you don't like it," Rex asked.

"I will, but only when Damian Brent has drawn his last breath," Kacie replied, "This scar is a reminder that he is still alive."

"You'd kill a man for leaving a simple scar on you?"

"When you're fast enough to avoid pain, you don't experience it hardly at all. That was the first time I had ever experienced pain. Can you remember the first time you experienced pain?"

Commander Williams just shook her head.

"That's because you were too young. When you experience pain for the first time as a full fledged and conscious adult, it's excruciating. He inflicted pain on me. He tried to kill me when I failed to be what Cerberus expected me to be…Commander Shepard. Therefore, he must die." _'God I'm a good liar…I'm working for the bastard. I still want him dead though. Maybe after I'm done working for the assholess…will I ever be done?'_

"Just don't get yourself killed out here," Rex demanded.

"Don't worry about me, Rex, I can hold my own," Kacie replied as she made sure her SMG and shotgun were good and ready to go.

* * *

The Normandy docked with the seemingly lifeless space station that Kacie had indicated to be one of the cloning facilities. This place was much larger than the simple freighter a Reaper had downed where they found the first of many clones.

Rex, Kacie, Kota, and Liara all walked into the station's entrance. Everything was silent, but electricity was still going and there was oxygen. They all drew their guns and prepared for any hostiles they might encounter as they made their way past the entrance lobby.

Liara was a little miffed inside that Rex would bring Kacie into the field alongside her, but at the same time, she took it as Rex having confidence in the doctor to put aside those feelings for the mission's sake.

They cleared the lobby with no resistance what-so-ever and made it to a door which read, 'Laboratory' above it. The commander pushed a button on the console and the doors swished open. The four women stepped forward into what looked like a scene of a movie in the 21st century that would have depicted their time now.

"Goddess," Liara gasped as she looked up and then all around them. There were pods everywhere. It reminded her of what Shepard had described to her as the Collector base, except much cleaner and with antiseptic in the air. Liara let her hands fall to her side, almost dropping her SMG, but she held on. Her free hand came back up to cover her mouth as she turned away from the sight before her. She closed her eyes as tears began to well up. Liara was almost regretting to follow along with this trip.

Rex turned to Liara and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you can go back to the ship if this is too much," she said softly.

Kota didn't watch this. Unbeknownst to the rest of them, the asari Spectre could not bare the sight of her mother crying. She knew how badly this hurt Liara.

The doctor shook her head and took a breath of air before lifting her head back up to stroke away her tears. "No," she said, "I'll be fine. I was just a little overwhelmed is all."

"You sure," Rex asked.

"Yes, let us continue," she replied.

Rex nodded, but suddenly alarms began going off all around them. They all began looking around and then female soldiers in black armor began storming the lab, shouting, "Enemies everywhere!"

"Take cover!" The commander ordered. They all managed to duck down either behind a perfectly placed random crate or a pillar that jutted out from the wall. They all took cover not a moment too soon as shots rang out towards them. "Fire at will! We gotta take them out!" Rex shouted. Each of them began peeking out in intervals to give counter fire to their attackers. Rex rolled from cover and shot one down before rolling to the same cover Kota had.

"What are you doing," Kota shouted, "This cover isn't big enough for both of us!"

"On my command, do that cool thing that makes 'em float around," Rex commanded. Kota huffed and nodded. After a rocket flew overhead and smashed into the wall behind their cover, Rex jumped up and took aim before shouting, "Kota, now!"

The asari Spectre shot up from her crouched position and sent out a singularity field and then a warp into the heart of the swarm, causing a few to lift up and flail in the air. Rex smirked and shot the ones who were caught in the field down. Liara couldn't help but smile to herself as that had been one of her and Shepard's moves.

Kacie suddenly cloaked herself and sprinted up to a soldier and downed the woman instantly with a biotic punch. She quickly jumped away from another who attempted to shoot her when her cloak dropped. In response, the bounty hunter threw a sticky grenade onto her causing her body to become chunks not two seconds later. "Hah, you can't defeat the Hawk!" Another female soldier tried to come up from behind and grab Kacie's head to perform a neck snap, but the blonde simply ducked down with the speed of lightning and sweep kicked her to the ground. "Nice try," she said cockily before producing her shotgun and killing the soldier with one shot. Another soldier had nearly shot her, but the bullet whizzed by her head since Liara had down the woman at the same time she took the shot at Kacie. Hawk's eyes were wide, but she smirked and gave a little wave to the asari who had just saved her face.

Within the span of a few minutes, the hostiles had been successfully cleared. Rex walked over to one of the dead female soldiers and knelt down. "I really hope we aren't dealing with what I think we're dealing with," she said as she went to open the helmet up. When the face shield moved out of the way, her suspicions were confirmed. Liara turned away, her hand clasping her mouth once again. It was a Shepard clone, but not quite like Kacie. These were more like Husks with the way their eyes were glowing, just like the one who tried to attack Kota on the freighter.

"Looks like Cerberus is starting to find a way to dispose of the ones that don't quite make it," Kacie said sarcastically.

"Whatever," Rex said, a hint of anger in her voice, "Let's go plant our bomb and destroy this insult of place."

"We are right behind you, Rex," Liara let out as she turned back around. Kota nodded in agreement.

The four of them moved on towards the next room. The station had looked similar to the Citadel when its arms, three instead of five, were expanded and stretched out, except the arms on this station were permanent and there was no central ring, just a sphere where the arms all connected. The sphere, Kacie indicated, was the central operations room and the best place to plant a bomb.

They didn't encounter anymore hostiles as they made their way to the center. The central chamber was quite large with an observation balcony that lined around the second floor to look down on what seemed to be an operating table in the center on the bottom floor. Currently, there was a clone laying on the table with many wires piercing into her flesh, all coming from what looked like six data hubs, three on either side of the table.

Liara walked over to the table and looked down at the clone. Her gloved hand stroked over the clone's cheek. Oh, how she wanted the clone to just be her Shepard sleeping peacefully and for them to be there to save her. She let out a half sigh and half sob.

"Get down!" Kacie shouted as she suddenly shoved Liara to the ground. In an instant it felt like her shoulder exploded. The blonde's blood splattered onto the clone on the table behind her as a bullet pierced through her right shoulder. She cried out, not used to the very pain she had been explaining to Rex about earlier.

Liara hit the ground after being pushed away rather hard, but gasped when she looked up to see blood pouring down Kacie's right arm. Apparently, the bounty hunter had seen a laser on the back of the doctor's head and if it hadn't been for her lightning quick reflexes, Liara would be dead right now.

The sniper stood up from cover, a male with short spiky brown hair, sun kissed tan skin, blue eyes, and a thin chinstrap beard. He gave a coy smirk before speaking, "Well, well, Kacie Hawk. Just what do you think you're doing here?" _'The hell did she block my shot for?! Has she lost her fuckin' mind?!' _he thought to himself.

"We've come to blow this place to pieces," Rex shouted, narrowing her eyes, "Who the hell are you?!"

The man grinned and jumped down from the balcony, landing hard in a crouch, but it didn't seem to phase him. "Damian Brent," he said, his voice very dark and scratchy, before he glared at Rex and suddenly charged her. He was pretty quick himself, as he knocked Rex's assault rifle from her hand when she tried to take a shot, sending his fist into her teeth.

Rex was completely knocked off guard when her gun fell from her hands, the punch was hard enough to lift her feet slightly off the ground before sending her onto her back with a thud. "Ergh," she let out before spitting blood out, her gums bleeding and her lip down split.

Kota hit Damian with a biotic throw as she ran around to the opposite side of the operating table. At this point, Liara had pulled Kacie down, using the table as cover, to start applying medi-gel the gouging wound in the woman's shoulder. She wanted to at least get the bleeding to stop. "Thank you," she whispered to the clone that had saved her.

Kacie couldn't manage a reply as the pain was too great for her. A cut was one thing to someone not used to pain, but a gunshot wound was a different story. All she could do was wince and hiss at the searing, burning pain in her shoulder. In a sudden change, the pain transformed into fury, as Kacie swiftly snatched Liara's SMG since she had dropped hers. She lunged out from cover and began to unload the clip at Damian while yelling out in a sort of war cry.

Unfortunately, the man had both barriers and shields up, so no harm came to him by the time the clip was emptied. He smirked and walked towards her. "C'mon, Hawk, what are you up to? Don't tell me you still have an old grudge."

"The fuck are you doing here," Hawk spat out angrily.

"The Illusive Man needs Williams and Dr. T'soni out of the picture. So he sent his best," Damian replied.

Hearing that name sent chills down Liara's spine and she also came out from cover. "The Illusive Man? That's impossible. He's dead. The Alliance has a body."

"If Shepard can be brought back, the same means for anyone else, especially the man who accomplished that task," the man replied.

Rex had managed to pull herself back up, her head still reeling from the punch Damian had delivered to her face. "Is that what Cerberus is planning to do with Shepard? Bring her back again?"

Damian shrugged one shoulder while tilting his head to the side. "Don't know. Don't care. I only have one mission. To kill you and the doc." Just then his omnitool beeped and he looked down. He read the message and then looked up with a smirk. "Well, looks like he wants to speak to you." He reached into a compartment on his armor and pulled a small sphere out and let it go as it began to float. It was the same sort of device Kai Leng had used on Thessia.

It projected the very one who they believed to be dead, the Illusive Man. He had his back turned, but he turned around, holding a cigarette in between his middle and index finger as usual. "Dr. T'soni," he said, "I don't appreciate you taking out one of my best fleets with a nuclear device."

"You shouldn't have come after me. And I suggest you call off your dog before the same fate befalls him," Liara replied, scowling.

"Don't you see what I'm trying to do here," he asked.

"No. Care to explain?"

"I am bringing Shepard back. The real Shepard."

Rex scoffed, "That's impossible. There isn't a body. You had a body before. And if that were true, why do you have the clones?"

"There wasn't a body when I was revived. My original body is in the ground somewhere on Earth. Yet, I am here," the Illusive Man replied.

"How," Kota asked as she stepped forward.

He took a drag of his cigarette before answering, "During the Lazarus project, I had operative Wilson insert an implant into Shepard's brain. Miranda of course had no idea since I refused her idea of inserting a control chip. This implant was made to record everything about Shepard. Her thoughts, her personality, who she was. It was intended as a precaution in case Shepard had died and there wasn't a body to recover. We could simply have a clone and put the data recorded from the implant into a chip to be put into the new body's brain. I did it with myself. I saved my DNA as well as Shepard's. I had scientists who were loyal to me bring me back. If I can do it with myself, I can do it with Shepard."

"Then why haven't you yet," Rex demanded to know.

"Unfortunately, when Shepard fired the crucible, the data was slightly corrupted. The data still exists, all of it, but it is not connecting with the clones the right way," he replied, "But we are close."

"Why are you attacking Reapers," Liara asked.

"Hm," the Illusive Man started, "Revenge I suppose. I want their technology to destroy them. I'll admit it, they indoctrinated me. I will not let that go unpunished."

"Or you just want their technology to dominate the galaxy," Rex added.

"Humanity would have a bigger hold on the galaxy, yes," the leader of Cerberus replied, "But right now, I am working on Shepard."

"To control her no doubt," Liara shouted.

"Not my intentions, Dr. T'soni. In fact, I could use your help."

"Over my dead body," both Rex and Liara said at the same time as they both moved past the projection to lift their guns up at Damian.

However, when the operative lifted his gun up to defend them, Kota unexpectedly pulled her own weapon up aiming at her mother and the commander. "Hold it right there!"

Rex's and Liara's eyes widened with complete shock. "Kota, what are you doing?!" Rex yelled.

Kota glanced at the projection of Cerberus' leader, but kept her gun on her two teammates. "You can definitely bring her back," she asked.

"Of course," the Illusive Man replied.

Kota narrowed her eyes at Rex and her mother. "How can you bear to stop him mother," she demanded, "He can bring her back!"

"Kota, it would never really be her, you know that," Liara pleaded. As much as she wanted to believe it herself, she knew the Illusive Man's words weren't true.

"You heard what he just said! He brought himself back, why can't he do the same with Father?! I can't let you stop him! I could actually have the chance to have my Father in my life!"

"It's good to see someone agrees," the Illusive Man said with a sly smile on his face.

"I will join you," Kota said to the projection, "But on my own terms. You let Commander Williams, Hawk, and my mother leave here with no further harm."

The projection of the man nodded to the younger asari, "Done. Operative Brent will escort you to where I need you to go." With that, the projection disappeared.

"Kota, please don't do this," Rex begged.

"I don't have a choice," Kota replied, "I suggest you tend to Hawk."

"You always have a choice," Rex said with a scowl as she walked over to Kacie.

Damian and Kota walked towards the exit of the room. Kota passed through the doors first. The Cerberus operative was close on her heels, but stopped before he went through the doors. He turned around to face the others. "By the way, Williams," he started.

Rex looked up in Damian's direction.

"Or should I call you Alex? I wouldn't believe your bitch of a mother if I were you. I didn't leave her. She's the one who left me," he said with an evil grin on his face before he walked off, the doors closing behind him.

Rex paused, her blood freezing like ice in her veins at one moment, but then boiling in the next. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she picked up her assault rifle and unloaded it on the door her father walked through.

* * *

_efil ot kcab em gnirb ot rotcod a deen i_

* * *

_**I know this is a long chapter compared to the others. I wanted to split it up, but I couldn't find a good place to do so because it plays such a big part in this story. Hope everyone enjoys it.**_


	14. Chapter 14

**[Establishing a secure connection…]**

**[Secure connection confirmed…]**

**[Sending…]**

**[Decrypting…]**

**[Warning…Data corruption detected]**

**2286**

**Chapter 14**

Out in the far reaches of the Attican Traverse, far away from Council Space, was a large station. It took days to get there only at light speed as it was far away from any Mass Relays; a way to hide it, so no one could just stumble upon it. Kota T'soni stood on the observation deck of the Cerberus cruiser she had boarded with Rex's father, Damian Brent. She had been silent the entire trip, feeling a sense of guilt as she had just betrayed her commanding officer and own mother. She knew she would likely be stripped of her recently acquired status as a Spectre, and likely be charged with treason if ever caught, but it was a risk she was willing to take to bring back her father, Commander Shepard. Kota couldn't help but notice that this vessel wasn't occupied by only humans. She had seen a couple of turians, batarians, and even another asari. It became apparent to her that Cerberus' objectives had changed, or they were desperate for manpower. Maybe the once human-centered group had achieved their goal of advancing humanity when the Crucible had given them an unforeseeable expansion of life and they were moving on to different things, or maybe, it was a trick to get the other races to trust them more. Either way, Cerberus had infiltrated into the societies of other species, and there was nothing she could do to stop it, nor was it her concern at the moment. She was just there to bring back the Savior of the Galaxy.

"So what's with the sudden change of heart," asked a deep scratchy voice from behind the asari.

Kota's heart skipped a beat when Damian spoke. She hadn't heard the man come up behind her. It must have been because of his profession as a sniper, to be light on the feet.

"Pardon," she replied.

Damian stepped to her side with his arms behind his back as icy blue eyes gazed at the station coming into view. "You were ready to take us down," he said, "Now you're willing to take aim at those who wish to stop us."

"I hate to admit it," Kota said as she looked toward the floor, "But the Illusive Man's explanation of bringing back my father makes sense. And I, for one, could care less about the destruction of the Reapers. I'm tired of people backing them up just because they helped rebuild. They stole something from me before I was even born. If the Illusive Man wants to give it back to me, who am I to not help him?"

"Yeah, that's real touching and all, but don't forget you have a job with Cerberus now," Damian said, "Once everything goes down, don't expect daddy dearest's name to carry the same weight, especially since it's us bringing her back…again. Plus, Cerberus will expect repayment."

'_Goddess, he's such an ass.' _"And I'm sure you will get it," Kota replied, "Tell me, does it make you jealous?"

"What?"

"Shepard's child would do the unthinkable to have her back," the asari started and then turned to look at the man, "Yet your own would rather put a bullet in your head. Oh, that's right, you probably never gave a thought to being a father, did you?"

Damian clenched his fists behind his back and gritted his teeth as his brows furrowed. He couldn't believe the asari was insulting him, and with such a calm manner. If he could get away with it, he would have shot her on spot, but the Illusive Man wouldn't have it. She was too valuable to him at the moment.

* * *

The med bay doors had suddenly swished open with Rex and Liara rushing Kacie in. Her wound had stopped bleeding for the most part, but the pain still ran through her. The sudden adrenaline spike she had from rage against her attacker had wore off and the pain took over. Any other soldier or mercenary would have been used to feeling a gunshot, but not this one.

"Jesus Christ," Niki blurted out as she leapt from her chair to pull Kacie to a table, "What the hell happened?"

"Sniper rifle," Rex replied, "Went clean through." The commander seemed short with her answers, anyone in that situation would, but there were other mixed emotions in voice as well.

Dr. Vang put on gloves and began inspecting the hole in Kacie's shoulder. "Ok, doesn't look too bad," she said as she looked back up to Liara and Rex, nodding, "I should have her fixed up in no time."

Rex just gave a nod back and turned to the door, "Good. I have some…reports I need to do." Without another word, the commander left the infirmary and headed for the elevator.

The bounty hunter that lay on the table hissed and clenched her jaw every time Niki touched her wound. "Ergh," she let out, "That bastard is really going to pay now…so help me God."

Looking down at her blood-stained gloves, Liara closed her eyes to think just a moment of what had transpired a few moments ago. "I…should go get cleaned up," she said before looking at Kacie, "Thank you, again."

After the asari also exited the med bay, Niki gave Kacie a shot to dull the pain a great deal. "What exactly happened down there?"

"Damian Brent…old rival," Kacie answered, now a bit more calm, "Bastard was going to kill T'soni. I stopped him. This will be the second mark he's left on me. I will make sure his death is a slow and painful one now."

"Aw, you really do have a heart," Niki said with a little hint of sarcasm as she worked to close the wound, "That's sweet." This earned a glare from the woman who had tried to kill her in the past.

* * *

It didn't take very long at all before Rex was taking fifty years of built up anger out on her poor punching bag. She hadn't even bothered to put her gloves on. Her knuckles were already becoming chapped and red from slamming into bag. She began kicking it over and over again. When it didn't bend in the way she wanted it to, she let out a war cry and slammed the crook of her foot and shin into it so hard, one of the chain links snapped, dropping the large bag to the ground. In a fit of rage, she dropped down to her knees, straddling the bag, and began to slam both fists into the bag, one after another. When Rex had her fill of that, she got up and lifted the heavy bag and began throwing and slamming it into the ground repeatedly. Suddenly, the bag burst with sand spewing onto the floor. At this point, the commander figured she had gotten out what she intended to, but fifty years was a long time. Now standing next to a stack of crates, she turned and slammed a bare fist into the metal. All of her knuckles busted and began to bleed.

Not only had she been betrayed by someone she was starting to consider a friend, but she had just learned her own father, a man she never knew, was a Cerberus operative. Now with her aggression let out, Rex nibbled on her busted lip, trying to think of what steps to take next. _'I need to call Mom.'_

Rex lifted her arm and brought up her omnitool to call Ashley Williams up. Ash answered almost immediately, "Hey, wh-…Christ you look like shit. Is everything ok?"

The commander frowned, narrowing her eyes at her mother. "What do you know about Damian Brent," Rex asked, ignoring her mother's question.

Ash was initially surprised by the question and the name, but then scowled as she knew where this conversation was headed. "Who the hell told you," she started, "I'll-."

"So you kept Kaiden and I from our father all these years," Rex interrupted, "He told me! He told me when he tried to kill Liara T'soni! He also told me that you left him, he didn't leave you!"

Hearing Liara's name brought questions to the general's mind, but it wasn't her main concern at the moment. "I had a damn good reason for leaving his sorry ass, too," Ashley refuted.

"Like what?!"

"Like when he tried to lay his hands on me, damnit!"

Rex suddenly became silent. She had only been told that her father was pretty much a jackass, but she never knew it had gone that far. "I-I'm sorry, Mom," she stuttered, "I didn't know."

"He never got the chance," Ashley said, wiping a few run away tears from her cheeks, "The moment he raised his fist, his ass was on the ground. You and Kaiden were too young to remember. He got up and thought he would try again, but I pulled a pistol on him and made him leave. No one messes with Williams women."

"I have to ask," Rex said, "Was he working with Cerberus then?"

"You think your mother would intentionally have children with a Cerberus agent? No, he was an Alliance marine. After I made him leave, I never heard from him again. He never even tried to be a father to you two, Alex."

"Thanks, Mom. That's all I needed to know."

"Before you go, please be careful. Damian is a dangerous and skilled man."

"Maybe so…but I'm better…I'm a Williams woman…and no one messes with me."

Ashley wanted to ask about Liara, but Rex ended the call before she got the chance. It had been a century since she or anyone of the old crew had seen the Shadow Broker. Some had wondered if the asari was even still alive.

* * *

After a long day of digging up what she could find on the resurfacing of Cerberus, Liara felt hunger begin to set in, so she left her room to head for the mess hall. On her way towards the elevator, she noticed Rex standing by Kota's room. The commander of this Normandy was leaning with her shoulder pressed against the wall, staring at the door. Liara walked to the human and put a hand on her shoulder gently. "You care about her, don't you," the asari almost whispered.

Rex jumped, but only a little before she pushed herself off the wall and turned to the information broker. She just gave a nod, not speaking, before looking back at the entrance to Kota's room.

Liara gazed at the door as well, the both of them looked like they were staring at a picture of the asari in question. "Kota has loved her father since she was young," she said, "Even without having met Shepard."

The human blinked and looked back to T'soni, a bit confused. "How is that possible?"

The asari gave Rex a faint smile. "When she was able to understand, I shared my memories of Shepard with her. I wanted her to know the Shepard I knew," she replied before turning her eyes downward, her smile fading, "But then one day, she realized her father wasn't coming back and she broke down into tears. I didn't think it was possible for one to love another without having ever met them or even interacted with them, but my daughter has proven me wrong of many things."

Rex stepped forward and patted the side of Liara's upper arm assuring her, "Don't worry, Dr. T'soni. We'll get her back."

The asari glanced down at the hand, noticing Rex's knuckles wrapped and bandaged, but said nothing. She already knew what happened since she had many cameras all over the ship connected to her network. She thought it best not to say anything about how Rex worked out her anger. Shepard had been the same way, say for, the former Normandy commander usually used a gun, or her head. "Yes, I trust your judgment, but," Liara started, "The Council will not approve of what she has done, I'm afraid."

"That's why I reported her as a hostage," Rex replied.

"Excuse me?"

The commander crossed her arms and leaned her back into the door. "She's confused. She made a mistake by thinking she was doing the right thing. I know where she's coming from even if it's not right. I never had a father either. The only difference is, mine had a choice, Shepard didn't."

"I respect your actions. I even thank you for them, but if the Council finds out what you've done, you will both be tried with treason."

"I know, but that's why they won't find out. Besides, two parts of the Council are too busy working on their little project and right now they want me to save a Reaper. I'm sure you already knew that, though."

"I've known about the relay they've been building for quite some time now," Liara said blinking, "But a Reaper?"

"Yeah, some Reaper that was helping them with the relay went missing. It's all real hush hush. I wasn't even supposed to say anything to you about the relay, but I knew you'd already know."

"It's ironic. It seems like just yesterday the entire galaxy was bent on destroying them. Now, they're our only chance for survival into the future."

"You agree with the project then," Rex asked.

Liara nodded. "To a certain extent. One day it will be necessary. We will eventually outgrow this galaxy."

"Yeah," Rex said as she stood up straight, "So, this Reaper we're going to save. It calls itself Guardian."

* * *

A few days had passed since Damian and Kota arrived on the Cerberus station. The asari Spectre had been pretty much assigned guard duty over the main area of the station. This station wasn't one of the many cloning facilities that Cerberus had up and running, though. This one, in fact, harbored a large Harbinger class Reaper. It was the same Reaper that had downed the Cerberus freighter. How the terrorist organization managed to contain the mechanical beast, Kota could not figure out.

She walked down a hallway that had glass running down its length to give a view of the giant Reaper. As she made her rounds, Kota would glance at the evil thing every now and then. That's when she heard a voice in the back of her skull. It said, "Kota…help me…"

The asari scowled and threw her hands up onto the glass. "You stop that," she shouted, "I know what you're trying to do! Do not think I will be indoctrinated so easily!"

Damian came pacing quickly around the corner, obviously hearing the shouts. "The hell is all the commotion for, woman," he yelled.

Kota turned with a scowl and pointed out the window towards the Reaper. "That thing is trying to get in my head," she snapped back.

"Relax," Damian said as he walked over and put his hands on her shoulders, "It talks to everyone like that. Just ignore it."

She stepped back away from him, pulling his hands off her. "You people are crazy," Kota said, "What do you want with this monster anyways?"

The man rolled his eyes and turned to look at the Reaper. "I don't know. One day, it's all about the weapons and technology. The next, it's about 'the truth'."

"The truth?"

"Like I said, I don't know."

**Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while. First, I had a little bit of writer's block. Second, I've been fighting to get back home for a few days. I still haven't made it. :( However, my plans when I do get home, is to sit down and write my little heart out. Hope you guys enjoy.**


	15. Chapter 15

**2286**

**Chapter 15**

Kacie was sitting up in a bed in the med bay watching vids on her omnitool. Niki hadn't allowed her to leave until the bounty hunter's wound healed. It was already closed and scabbing within two days, something that would never have happened before the green light. The doctor came walking through the door holding two trays of food.

"So, when can I go back to my own room," Kacie asked as the doctor sat the tray in her lap and accepted the silverware handed to her.

Niki sat down in her chair and rolled close to Kacie's bed. "Hm, never," Niki replied with a small chuckle, "You're my captive now. Besides, you owe me for getting shot when you were supposed to be on a date with me."

Hawk raised an eyebrow with a smirk on her face as she poked at her food. "That sounds oddly kinky. I believe you're starting to have a thing for me, doctor."

"Maybe so," Niki replied before taking a bite of chicken teriyaki, "We do have a lot in common."

"Oh yes, that's right. You're a doctor and I'm a killer," Kacie replied sarcastically, but smiled anyways.

"Hah, I meant other than that. For instance, we were both created in a lab somewhere."

"You were?"

Niki just nodded.

"By the Illusive Man?"

"Illusive Man? What? No," Niki replied as her brows furrowed, "He's alive?"

The Shep look-a-like blinked and said, "I thought you knew, but continue with your story. This is a good opportunity to get to know each other."

The doctor sat there in silence for a moment, thinking to herself. _'How is that possible? This is bad. Worse than I thought.'_

After a moment, Kacie snapped and waved a hand in Niki's face. "Hello?"

Niki snapped her head up to turn icy eyes back to her former rival. "Oh, sorry. Um, yeah, my mother created me. She couldn't have children herself, so she made me with her genes and some other random person's."

"Really? She must be pretty smart to have pulled that off. What's she like?"

"We hardly speak anymore. Not since I ran away at 16. I didn't want to be like her. I rebelled against her in every form I could, thus, the tattoos and retro look. She's a cold and calculating woman. She has her warmhearted moments, though it's a rarity. She didn't stop me when I ran. She said she understood. That must have been one of her moments."

"Life on your own at 16? That must have been tough."

"Well, I was stupid. I ended up getting into a lot of trouble. Got my ass locked up, and mommy dearest had to save me. Not one of my prouder moments. However, she didn't force me to go back home. She said I had two choices. Home or Grissom. The academy had just reopened. I chose Grissom of course. Refined my biotics. I had a kickass instructor that my mother knew. They hated each other, which made my teacher my new favorite idol."

"So, she's really not all that bad. You're just a spoiled brat?"

Niki frowned and grabbed Kacie's bad shoulder giving it a squeeze. The bounty hunter stiffened like a brick wall biting her bottom lip, trying not yelp. "Hm, still a bit tender," the doctor said before she let go.

"Ergh, you're a bitch."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Niki replied with a smirk as she got up, "Hey, listen, I'll be back in a few. I gotta go make a call."

* * *

A square plate of metal laid on the walkway in the cockpit when Venz walked in holding two cups of coffee in his hands. He blinked and looked down towards the right to see Ivy squatting down, pulling at wires within the wall from where the metal plate came from. "Uh, Ivy," he said to make himself apparent, "What are you doing?"

Green eyes turned up to glance at the tall man before turning back to their intended target. "Right speaker went out," she replied, "Thought some wiring may have come loose." Just then, she pulled a wire that suddenly spewed sparks from her hand. The redhead jolted, falling to her back, eyes closed.

"Ivy!" Venz threw both cups of coffee over his shoulder before dropping down to the pilot laid out on the floor. Both cups smashed to the floor safely away from them. He instantly put two fingers firmly to the Ivy's neck. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a strong pulse. Venz gently patted her cheek and shook her shoulder.

Veins of faint green light lit up throughout the pilot's skin for a brief moment before she opened her eyes, jumping a bit. Her eyes blinked with a glow briefly before she sat up slightly. "Phew! That was a rush," she let out, "Did I fix it?"

The Russian shook his head before shifting the weight of his rear onto the back of his heel. He rubbed his forehead before answering, "No. The woofers are not wired. You need to be more careful."

Ivy let out a small snicker before pushing herself up. "Hehe, woofers," she said, imitating Venz's accent. She noticed the broken cups and puddles of dark liquid on the floor before Venz's tall frame rose as well. "You gonna clean that up right?"

Venz huffed and gently took the hand that was popped by sparks to inspect it. He looked confused when it appeared unharmed and not burnt. "That is strange."

Ivy quickly pulled her hand away and knelt back down to put the wall back together. "Half machine, remember?" She was blushing and she could feel it. She hunched her shoulders up awkwardly to hide her face. "Electricity shall not defeat me," she shouted in a cheesy Bravehart sort of way, "Now clean up your mess and fix my speaker."

The sergeant grumbled and walked off to get the necessary supplies to do thy master's bidding. He passed the commander as he left the cockpit.

Rex walked in just as Ivy was settling back into her seat. "Well, got anywhere to go, Rex," the pilot asked, "We've been sitting here for days. I'm getting bored."

"Yeah," Williams replied, sounding a bit blue, "Head for Tuchanka."

"Tuchanka," Ivy asked with false concern, "Uh, if Cerberus is attacking the Krogan home world, they're stupider than I thought."

Rex shook her head and put her hand to her chin. "No. I need a drink," she said with exasperation, "And a boost."

"Alright, Tuchanka it is then."

* * *

"What? That's impossible," came an accented female voice from Niki's omnitool. The doctor had retreated to her bedroom to make a call to her mother.

"Me, of all people, wouldn't be calling you if it weren't true," Niki replied, "I wouldn't speak to you for any other reason. You and Oriana need to watch your backs. Get to hiding. I don't care what, just do something."

Sure, Miranda and her daughter hadn't seen eye to eye on many things, but she knew Niki cared. "Right," Lawson replied, before hesitantly asking, "How are you?"

"Don't ask about me, Miranda," Niki said back. She wouldn't even call her 'Mom.' "Just do what you need to do."

The former Cerberus operative took a more serious expression, absent of all emotion. "Fine," she replied before hanging up.

* * *

Wrex was just walking out of a large pyramid lined in bronze, ordering around other Krogan when he heard the familiar sonic boom off in the distance of a ship entering the atmosphere. He looked up towards the rebuilt Shroud to see a ship with recognizable features flying over towards the port. He looked at the two Krogan in front of him. "Well, what are you waiting on? Get to your duties," the clan leader ordered sternly. They both nodded and trotted off.

* * *

Dr. T'soni stepped off the Normandy, dust dirtying her white boots as soon as they made contact with Tuchanka soil. Liara noticed that the planet had been vastly remodeled and cleaned up as she looked around to take in the full view. "Amazing," she almost gasped. Cities now sprawled over the once desolate landscape of the war torn planet. She noticed many adult Krogan walking around with or holding younger ones. The asari never imagined she would think the sight of a baby Krogan to be 'cute.'

Rex emerged from the ship shortly after the asari, stretching and taking a long breath in of the planet's air. The Krogan planet was more of a home to the human than even Earth was. "Yep," Rex said, "I love this place."

The Normandy's pilot stepped off from the exit of the ship. Her crimson hair was now pulled back into a ponytail that stuck through the back of an SR-3 hat. Ivy breathed in the air and grimaced. "Yeah, it's gonna take a couple of shots of liquor to get that smell to go away," she coughed out.

"Oh, quit complaining," Venz said as he stepped out next to the redhead, "Be thankful we have some shore leave." Ivy stuck her tongue out at him.

Next, Kacie came out followed by a worried looking Dr. Vang. Other crew members also exited and the proceeded to go off their separate ways to make the best of their time on shore leave. Han'Zorah Vakarian was running a bit behind in making his way to shore leave, something about calibrations. Grant had decided to stay behind and run maintenance on the engines. He was getting used to being around other species, but he felt the Krogan were too hostile for him. He was afraid of being blasted on site with an Eviscerator.

A dark human female with black hair was walking towards them. She was well dressed, appearing to be ready to give a big presentation to someone important. Liara narrowed her eyes when she saw a floating camera following closely behind the woman as she marched towards them. "Here we go," Liara said with a sigh, instantly knowing who it was.

"Huh," Rex let out, blinking her eyes at T'soni, "What is it?"

The reporter walked up to the human commander and got her attention with, "Commander Williams. Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund News."

Commander Williams gave the woman a strange look and dodged the camera that flew around her head. "Um, what do you want," Rex asked, "Can you get this thing outta my face?"

"I have a few questions regarding you investigation for the Council," al-Jilani said, ignoring the commander's request.

"Ok, what do you want to know," Rex replied trying to swat the camera away, but it was like a pesky fruit fly.

"Is it true that you stumbled upon the remains of a dead Reaper out in the Terminus systems?"

"Yeah, we are investiga-."

"And it is rumored that Cerberus has re-arisen and they are the ones who destroyed the Reaper. Is this also true?" The reporter was now sounding like a lawyer in the middle of cross examination.

Rex scratched the back of her head. "Uh, it's uncertain at the moment," she replied with a shrug.

"But you suspect it may be Cerberus. If they are indeed killing Reapers, are you trying to stop them? Do you stand on the side of the Reapers, the machines that attempted to wipe all life in the galaxy?"

The commander suddenly looked furious and stepped forward with her hand on her pistol, "This interview is over." The reporter's eyes widened when she saw the Spectre reach for her firearm. Sure, she had taken beatings before. That was the consequence for the kind of job she had. Even the great Commander Shepard had knocked her on her ass not once, twice, but three times. However, she had never been shot at. Rex drew her weapon and looked down at it and then back at the reporter with narrow, seething eyes. "You see this," she asked as she pointed the barrel towards al-Jilani. Rex was already at her wits end with stress. She didn't need reporters and their disingenuous assertions. The reporter gulped and nodded, wide-eyed. "You'll remember this the next time you approach me for an interview," Rex said with a dark whisper before turning the gun to the camera flying around and blasting it to pieces with one shot without even looking.

"Hey, you can't do that!" Khalisah shouted pointing a finger at the commander, "You'll pay for-." She didn't get to finish her sentence before a biotic blast threw her to the side. She landed with an, "Oof!" The annoying reporter got up and pointed to Rex again. "The people have a right to know," she shouted before running off. Rex, a bit thrown off, gave Liara a surprised look.

"I've always wanted to do that," the Shadow Broker said with a smirk. Some of Shepard had certainly rubbed off on her.

Once the initial shock faded, Ivy pumped her fist up. "That was epic!"

Kacie gave a smirk, "Hehe, classic."

Han, who was exiting the ship a few moments too late, popped his head out and said, "What? What'd I miss?" The turian glanced around curiously.

Bellowing laughter came from the Urdnot clan leader, who had witnessed the entire event from afar, as he walked to meet Rex and the rest of her squad. "Haha! You aren't as soft as I thought you were," Wrex greeted with the best grin a Krogan had to offer, "Liara."

"Wrex," Liara simply replied.

"Uncle Wrex," the Spectre said with excitement, punching him in the chest. The sight of the Krogan made her stress almost melt away.

"What brings you here with the asari who's been missing for a century," he asked.

"I need to shoot, punch, and headbutt things," Rex said, crossing her arms.

The Krogan chuckled, knowing exactly what that meant, "Looks like you started early."

Heavy steps could be heard thumping towards them quickly. Suddenly, another Krogan burst through a crowd causing them to gasp and shortly after shout obscenities at him for being reckless. Rex immediately took at stance preparing herself for impact. "Krogan charge!" shouted the large alien as he slammed into the human. The ram would have knocked anyone else on their ass in an instant, but the human woman had obviously been preparing for this for some time. Rex pressed her hands into the Krogan's chest trying to push back with all her strength, but her lighter weight caused her slide backwards, though her form remained and she remained on her feet. She gritted her teeth as the dust beneath her feet curled into the air as her boots slid across the ground. Once she came to a stop, Rex reared a fist back and smashed into the side of the attacking Krogan's face. He faltered back only an inch before he hit her in the abdomen with the butt of his shotgun. She growled with a wince and then proceeded to slam her shin into his thigh as hard as possible. The kick was obviously executed well because he yelped out and went to grab his leg, but before he could, the human grabbed his crown. Rex pulled his massive head down to knee him in his pointy face.

The Krogan bowed down to hold his hurting face before backing away, holding one hand up in retreat. "Ok, ok," he said, "You win this time!"

The rest of the squad that still stood there looked completely baffled. The thought had gone through all their heads to step in, but it appeared Rex could handle herself. Liara didn't know what she was so surprised. She had watched Shepard use her bare hands to beat on the previous Shadow Broker, and a Yagh made a Krogan look like a domesticated pet.

"Hah, nice try, Zarek," Rex said, holding her sore abs, "Maybe next time."

The red-eyed Krogan with a dark red, almost black, crown rose back up, standing as straight as any of his species could manage. He appeared to be much younger than Wrex. "Hmph," Zarek let out, "You will fall next time."

"Still letting human females beat you down, son," Wrex said as gave a disappointed shake of his head.

"Hey, now, I'm not just any woman," Rex said, trying to fake insult, "I'm the Great Commander Williams." She put her hands on her hips and boasted her chest cockily.

"You're full of yourself, Rex," Zarek said, waving her away, shaking his head.

"I know," the woman agreed with a smirk, "Wanna go shoot some pyjaks?"

"You have to ask? Let's go!" Wrex's son shouted.

Rex turned to the rest of her crew, "Ok, people, have fun. You know when to be back."

They all nodded and dispersed with Liara muttering something about, "Those poor little, innocent creatures."


	16. Chapter 16

**2286**

**Chapter 16**

A blue arm slipped around the woman's neck as dark lips met lighter ones, the other hand coming up to stroke the faintly glowing scars on Shepard's cheek. The soldier's strong arms suddenly lifted Liara's legs up off the ground. Though with a soft squeak, the asari complied and wrapped her legs around her lover's waist, allowing Shepard to carry her towards the Commander's bed. Shepard laid them both down as Liara's fingers scraped the back of her head, sending shivers down the human's spine. The Commander broke their kiss, both of them gasping for air, so she could push Liara's white and blue collar away to nip at the blue skin on her neck with her teeth. The asari gasped at the contact, pulling her hands to the soldier's chest going to unbutton Shepard's dress blues. Soft moans escaped Dr. T'soni's lips as Shepard began doing the same to her own attire, planting soft kisses along Liara's collar bone as she pushed the white leather like material to the side. "Oh, Shepard," the asari whispered softly. Her biotics crackled ever so slightly when the Commander's omnitool lit up with a beep. Shepard abruptly stopped what she was doing and lifted up much to Liara's displeasure. The Spectre narrowed her eyes on the holographic orange screen.

"Please ignore it," T'soni pleaded, putting her hand on Shepard's forearm.

The Commander gave her a smug grin before leaning down and kissing the blue hand. "You know I can't do that," she answered, her expression becoming more intense and serious as she focused on her omnitool.

"What is it?" Liara asked before she sat up and pulled the human's face to her own, frightened by the look in her eyes.

The soldier shook her head and Liara noticed that the human was suddenly in her N7 armor. "It's time," Shepard replied, giving the asari a caring smile before kissing her lips softly, "I have to go." Commander Shepard got up from the bed and turned to walk out the door from her cabin. When the door swished open, the sounds of Reaper beams could be heard clearly along with tanks crashing and exploding.

Liara frantically got up and ran to Shepard, reaching out for her as she ran into the chaos. "No!" the asari cried out, "I love you!"

* * *

"SHEPARD!" is what Rex awoke to, jumping up and scrambling to her feet from the bed she had been sleeping on. The scream had come from the hotel room directly next to hers. In nothing but boxers and a sports bra, Williams stumbled out of her room almost smacking into other hotel guests as she went to the next room to her left. She quickly over-rid the door and ran in to see Liara sitting up in her bed, clinging to the blanket over her, rocking back and forth sobbing.

Rex rushed over to her and sat next to her on the bed, grabbing Liara's shoulders. "Hey, hey," she said softly, "What's wrong? Bad dream?"

The asari held her tear stained cheeks, gasping for air. "I-I'm sorry," she sobbed, "I didn't mean to alarm you."

"No, no, it's ok," Rex protested, "Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine," Liara replied, "Yes. It was a bad dream. A nightmare. Goddess…I've lost Shepard and now our only child." Tears began to pour from her eyes again.

The younger human suddenly wrapped her arms around Liara and hugged her. "No, we haven't lost Kota yet," she said, "I promise we will get her back. You have my word on that."

"I know, I know," Liara breathed out, taking in a deep breath, "This is all just very…"

"Overwhelming?" Rex asked as she let go of the doctor.

"Yes. Don't worry. I'll be alright," Liara replied.

Rex nodded and got up, "Well, I should go put some clothes on before the staff thinks I'm running around streaking." This earned a small giggle from the asari. Rex smiled to her and walked out the door back to her own room. Her steps were a bit wobbly. She had ingested quite a bit of alcohol the night before. Her head was actually throbbing, but she didn't want Liara to see it. Everyone had met up at a night club the night before after doing whatever they did during the daylight hours.

* * *

Ivy awoke with a pulsing in her temples, a pressure behind her eyes, and nausea in her stomach. Perhaps she had gone a little too far the night before. When a mysterious arm slithered around her waist from behind, she decided she had drank way too much. Brief panic shot through her veins, but her heart settled when she realized all her clothes were still on. She shifted onto her back to see who the owner of the limb was, gasping when she saw Venz. _'Crap, what happened last night? This is not good.'_ The redhead gulped and gently tried to pull away the sergeant's arm so she could get up, but when she lifted his arm by his wrist, Venz, still asleep, suddenly pulled her closer. The room was a little chilly and Ivy was still sleepy, so it was hard for her not to just snuggle into the man for the comfort alone, but she knew as soon as he woke up, he would be having the same panic attack. _'Better get this over with.'_

The Russian felt a suddenly shove in his chest and his eyes blinked open. He knew he was in a bed, but didn't know whose. He looked down to see a familiar face and damn near had a heart attack when he suddenly threw himself out of the bed, falling onto the floor. "Ivy!" he shouted, "I-I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what?" Ivy asked as she got up and walked around to the other side of the bed with her hands on her hips. She narrowed her eyes at the man on the floor.

Venz held his hands up in defense as if Ivy were about to shoot him. "Y-you were pretty loaded last night," he said, "You started kissing me and pulled me to your room. I didn't want to advantage of your state of mind."

"So, then why did I wake to you in my bed?" Ivy crossed her arms, cocking her eyebrow.

"You wanted to go a lot farther than I did so I refused, but you insisted that I at least stay with you!"

"Ugh," Ivy let out, pinching the bridge of her nose when she felt her stomach lurch. Instantly she bolted for the bathroom.

Venz sighed and got up, following her in. He knelt down and pulled her crimson hair back as she vomited into the toilet. He understood her surprised reaction from a few moments ago, but Venz also knew the woman would be feeling awful for the rest of the day, so he decided he would wait on her, hand and foot, more so than usual.

Ivy accepted the wet washcloth Venz handed her when she was done and wiped her mouth with it. "God, I'll never drink Ryncol again," she panted.

* * *

Kacie was passed out in the bed she was sharing with Niki, the both of them naked underneath the covers. The doctor had her head resting in the crook of the bounty hunter's neck. While most others didn't remember the night from before, they certainly did. Hawk had decided to flirt with another human woman who had presented herself at the club, much to Niki's discontent. Niki couldn't understand why she had gotten so jealous. She and Hawk had barely even been on a first date, but she knew she was attracted to the taller blonde.

_Niki interrupted Kacie's conversation with the women she was sitting on a couch, "And here I thought that you actually had feelings. That you might actually have a heart. But you're still the same Kacie Hawk. I wouldn't be surprised if you shot me in the back when this mission is over with." The doctor scoffed and turned on her heel walking off._

_Kacie's eyes went wide and she jumped up following Niki, suddenly grabbing her wrist. She pulled the doctor back, putting an arm around her waist. Niki tried to pull back and she opened her mouth to yell at Kacie, but words never left her lips as the clone's lips covered them. The kiss was hard at first, but became soft after a few moments when Niki relaxed into it. The rest was history._

Niki's hair was a mess as she began shuffling awake within Kacie's arms. Kacie also began awaking, smiling when she felt a soft hand on her cheek, returning the soft kiss placed on her lips. Niki bit down on one of Kacie's lip piercings, gently tugging on her lip.

"Mm, feeling naughty this early?" the bounty hunter asked, kissing the doctor's forehead.

Niki snickered and pulled away out of Hawk's arms. "Hehe, no. I just like teasing you," she replied as she grabbed a robe next to the bed, wrapping it around her body.

Kacie sat up, pulling the blankets over her chest, pouting, "Hmph, evil."

The doctor threw up her middle finger before grabbing her omnitool to see if she had any new messages. The words her eyes ran across sent her suddenly running out the door and down the hall. Kacie was stunned, not even having a chance to stop her to see what was wrong.

The door to Rex's hotel room swished open and Niki came running through. "Commander!" she shouted, "Commander! I need your help!"

Rex had just finished putting on some casual military wear when the doctor burst in. "What? What's wrong?" she asked, turning around from the mirror she was inspecting herself in.

Niki was panting when she got to Rex. "My mother. My aunt. They're in trouble. Cerberus is definitely involved," she replied, "Please. I need your help."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. Calm down," Rex replied as she put a hand on her shoulder, "Cerberus? You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm positive," Niki almost shouted.

"Ok, let's get everyone back to the ship," Rex said, "You'll need to tell us all what's going on."

* * *

Fortunately, it had been time to return to the Normandy anyways. Rex had gotten a lot off her chest by talking to Wrex, something she always did when she had a lot on her mind. Rex said her goodbyes to the Krogan and boarded the Normandy. Everyone decided to meet in the comm room.

"Ok, everyone," Rex started, "Dr. Vang has something she wants to help her on and it more than likely involves Cerberus. Niki?"

The doctor stepped forward. "I know this mission is top secret, but when I found out the Illusive Man was still alive, I let my mother know. Cerberus is a danger to her as it is, but with the Illusive Man back, I feared she was in more trouble than she could handle. I had to let her know to give her a chance to get to safety."

"Christ, Niki," Rex sighed out, "Why is the Illusive Man such a threat to your mother?"

"Miranda is your mother," Liara interrupted, "Isn't she?"

Dr. Vang blinked, wondering how the asari would be able to obtain that information. "How did you know that?" Niki asked.

"I am a very good information broker," Liara replied, "And I know her very well. I did not like her much at first when I turned Shepard's body over to Cerberus, but I came to be more trusting of her. She's the only one who knew about Kota, and I was the only one to know about you."

"Wait a second here," Kacie interjected, holding up a hand, "Your mother is Miranda Lawson?"

"Yes," Niki replied as she gave a nod, "And she's in danger right now."

"What happened?" Liara asked with concern.

"Apparently she had her omnitool set up to send me an alert message had anything happened to her or her sister," Niki said, "And this morning I got that message. I don't know what has happened, but the message also gave a signal of where her coordinates are. I've traced it to the planet Trebin in the Hades Gamma cluster."

The asari looked over at the commander and gave her a nod. "She's right. The Illusive Man would be after Miranda if not for revenge, then for her expertise on the Lazarus Project. On the bright side, she would never give up anything to help him with his goals to replicate Shepard. Unfortunately, that means he would be more likely to seek revenge on her."

Rex looked from Liara to Niki, and then to Ivy. "Alright, Ivy, head for Hades Gamma," she ordered. Ivy gave a small salute and walked off towards the cockpit. She looked back to Niki. "You and Han are going with me when we get there."

Han elbowed the air behind him happily. "Finally, I get to see some action."

"Everyone else, to your stations," Rex ordered.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys, just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I've kind of fallen off these few days. I know I said when I went home that I would write to my heart's content, but apparently I write better when I'm alone in my truck. When I go home, I almost can't find a time to myself. Also, I would like to apologize for the last two chapters. They were not up to my standards. I hope I can use the next two and half weeks before Christmas to deliver some worthwhile chapters to you guys. Also I've just gotten this new software that allows me to speak and write, so I'm going to be using that for some of the fanfic from now on just to give it a try. So what you're actually reading now comes from my voice. So without further a do, here's Chapter 17.**

**2286**

**Chapter 17**

The Normandy was silently making its way to the planet Trebin with its stealth systems engaged. Rex, donning full N7 armor, had just made her way up the bridge, taking stance behind Ivy. With her hands clasped behind a straight back, the commander gazed out the windows onto the upcoming planet.

"So are you going down in a shuttle, commander?" Ivy asked as she tapped and swiped away at her consoles, preparing to make an entrance into the planet's atmosphere.

"No, we will be going down in my present that we picked up from Tuchanka," Rex replied plainly.

Ivy had a slight look of confusion upon her face when she turned in her chair to glance up at the commander. "You don't mean," she began.

Trying not to look so enthusiastic about finally having a chance to use the Mako, the Spectre just gave a slight grin and a nod of the head to the redhead.

"Well, I personally think you're freaking crazy," said the pilot as she turned back around in her chair to focus on piloting the ship, "you know, for taking such an old piece of machinery, especially a Mako, on such an important mission."

Rex gave a quirk of her eyebrow and glanced down at the pilot who was faced away from her. "Questioning your commanding officer, Moreau?"

Ivy gave a shrug of her shoulders and shook her head while at the same time rolling her eyes, but she knew the commander wouldn't see. "No, no. Hope you enjoy your bouncy ride, Rex," she replied.

"Oh, trust me, I will," a big hint of mischief hung in Rex's throat as the smirk she was trying to control on her face grew, "I'm heading down to the bay. Be ready to drop us off on my command." With that, the Williams woman turned on her heel and began towards the end of the CIC.

* * *

In one fell swoop, the Normandy shot the Mako from the platform that opened on the bottom of its hull. The rolling tank began falling towards the planet's surface, although it was apparent that the vehicle's operator was very well inexperienced. Because Rex did not know how to properly control the thrusters, the tank rocked back-and-forth and side to side before it finally crashing into the ground.

"Christ Rex you are going to get us killed," Niki said as they crashed to the ground, her body rocking back and forth from the force of the impact. She swore, inside her head, that she would definitely have whiplash the next day.

During the fall, Han had his hands above his head as if he were on some sort of roller coaster ride. "Can we do it again?" He said anxiously, almost sounding like a young child in an amusement park.

The commander couldn't contain the excitement upon her face. "Sorry, this the first time that I've had the launch the Mako out of a ship," Rex replied as she gripped onto the controls of the tank, whipping it from side to side to gain control of its direction. She finally brought the hulking piece of metal on wheels to a dead stop and looked over her shoulder at her to comrades. "So, you two ready?" The other human and the Turian both gave Commander Williams a curt nod. Rex pushed a button on the dash, bringing up a holo-screen that showed a map of the terrain, which included the main site where Cerberus was likely holding Miranda among other various sites for further exploration. "Okay, looks like the signal is coming up just off to the northeast," Rex said before driving the tank forward in that direction.

The wheels of the tank threw up soil and grass, leaving the tread marks behind. They began going over a mountain, eventually attempting a grade that the tank was just not designed to handle. "Aw, come on you can do it," the commander pleaded with the machine. After many failed attempts to climb a 90° angle, they finally backed off and went to find another way around.

A half hour into bouncing and rocking from slope to slope, freefalling and crashing, Niki felt the onset of motion sickness. Her right hand was gripping the "oh shit" bar above her head, her knuckles white. With her free hand, Niki wiped cold sweat from her forehead. They finally got out of the mountains and onto flat terrain. While the blonde and black haired woman felt thankful for the even surface, something just didn't settle right with her. It was too quiet. Only a moment later, she knew her gut was right. In almost an instant, the ground beneath them rumbled.

"The hell was that?" Han asked, giving a curious look to the circular sensor gauge that was just to the right of the map.

Dead head of the tank, an enormous monster shot from the earth. "Maw!" Niki shrieked out as soon as she saw it.

"Fasten your seatbelts and hang on tight," Rex shouted, "it's going to be a rough ride!"

"As if it weren't already," Niki yelled back.

"I don't see any seatbelts," Han yelled, frantically trying to search for a safety strap, "there aren't any seatbelts!"

Rex swerved the tank to the right of the thresher maw as she pressed a button to the left of her controls to bring up the aiming device for the tank's weaponry. She took steady aim with the tank's cannon and fired a shot. It hit the giant worm, but as she was able to get a safe distance to stay away from the acid like saliva that it spat, the maw suddenly disappeared into the ground. The commander let out a sigh, her heart racing, but her relief was short-lived. The maw shot out again, but this time it was only about 5 feet in front of the tank. With wide eyes and gritted teeth, Rex frantically backed up the vehicle while at the same time firing the turret gun. Han just sat frozen with fear as Niki screamed with terror. The tank went to the left of the thresher maw this time and Rex attempted to fire the cannon again, but it malfunctioned.

"What the fuck?!" Rex shouted as she stopped the tank momentarily and repeatedly hit the button for the cannon. In that brief moment, the commander completely let her guard down, and a ball of acid stepped struck the Mako. All the sensors and gauges on the inside of the vehicle began to go haywire.

Niki pulled her knees to her chest and squinted her eyes shut while whining out, "We're all going to die!" Han was just yelling out explicit words in the Quarian language as he laid out on the entire backseat with his hands covering his face.

"Shut the fuck up!" The commander demanded as she suddenly made the tank take off as fast as it would go away from the monster, swerving left and right to dodge its attacks. One moment, the left wheels were coming off the ground, and the next, it was the right. Thankfully, a Mako couldn't roll over, unless a Reaper shot it. They finally got far enough away from the thresher maw that it eventually just gave up and retreated back underneath the ground. At that point, Rex brought the tank to a screeching halt. They had reached their destination.

Before them sat a circular shaped building of only about one story. It didn't look like much of anything and it wasn't very big. In fact, it only looked like a house for a small family. If it were indeed Cerberus, that could only mean one thing. The structure reached further beneath the ground. There was no telling how far down and how vast the building actually was. Rex and her team were soon to be going into a big unknown. They all hopped out of the Mako and approached the entrance, readying their weapons. Rex hit the switch for the door before the three of them entered.

They crept around the corner of the hallway that entered into the structure. Almost immediately after entering, they came under fire from Cerberus troops. This time they were not Shepard clones. Rex, Han, and Niki gave skilled return fire to the armored men making it look easy as they took them down. To the center and back of the room was an elevator. The room they were currently in was apparently just a check-in station. The squad made their way to the elevator and Rex hit the button to summon it. It quickly became apparent that they probably should've set up point before the doors opened as there was a group of three soldiers awaiting inside. It was a good thing that three on three were pretty good odds since Rex and her team only had to fire one shot each to take down the three men. They pulled the soldiers out from the elevator and entered it sending it downward.

The next room they came to appeared only be a storage area as there were no guards to be found, nor nothing that looked of importance. After spending a few minutes searching for anything that looked valuable and coming up empty handed, they took the elevator down further. They got to a certain point to where the headliner above the elevator doors read, "Restricted Area." Rex stopped the elevator on the floor and they exited. With guns drawn, the commander, the doctor, and the Turian began scanning the room. Niki knew right away that this place is not a lab, nor cloning facility because the smell of disinfectant was nowhere to be found in the air.

A very faint clink of metal could be heard from above and Han suddenly shouted, "Sniper! Get down!" All three of them suddenly took shelter behind what looked like a command console as a stray bullet ricocheted off the corner of the console. The Turian quickly disengaged his pistol and reach behind his back for his own rifle before taking aim at where the bullet came from. He waited for the sniper to sneak his head out again for another shot, and when he did a single bullet exploded his head.

The entire area around them was white and chrome metal. There were two solid walls on both sides with an aisle running up the room, which Rex and her team along with the command console were now in. Beyond the command console was a small flight of stairs that led down to a large two way mirror. There was a thin cat walk above the room and alongside the walls, which is where the sniper now lay dead.

Niki rushed forward and down the steps, much to Rex's dismay. The commander didn't know there would be any more enemies to suddenly pop up out of nowhere. Both Rex and Han both shot up from their hiding spot, ready for anything. Thankfully, no more enemies came rushing out from any secret entrances. Rex blew out a sigh of relief as Niki pressed her face against the mirror hoping to see her mother on the other side. However, she could see nothing but darkness. Perhaps it wasn't just any kind of two way mirror.

"Rex, see if there's anything on that console that will make this window transparent," Niki ordered.

The commander grunted, not used to taking orders from her own squad, but complied anyways. She put away her gun and leaned over the console, tapping a few buttons, making the mirror nothing more than a simple window. On the other side, it was a completely empty and white room was nothing other than what looked like an examination table with Miranda strapped down onto it.

"Shit!" Niki exclaimed before she gave a single pound on the window with her fist, "We have to get in there!"

* * *

Liara was sitting in the copilot seat to the right of Ivy assisting her with monitoring the mission. Ivy had no idea why the designers of the ship had installed a seat to the right and to the left of her since she had no need for someone to help her pilot the ship, but they came in use for whenever someone wanted to come up and spend time with her. Suddenly, one of the many orange screens in front of her blinked red. The long-range scanner was picking up the signatures of many Cerberus ships.

"Shit, it's like every time Rex goes into one of these bases, she sets off some kind of alarm to send an entire Cerberus fleet right at us," Ivy grumbled as she slid where the smaller screens over in order to speak to Rex, "Hey commander, you might want to hurry up down there. You know, since Cerberus apparently has a fleet as big as the entire Alliance now."

Reply to came over the speakers was nothing but broken up words and static. The asari shook her head and said, "They must be jamming our communication."

Ivy made an annoyed growl before lifting her hands up in clearing out all the screens in front of her to bring up the commands to move the ship. "Better hang on, things are going to get rough," she said to Liara.

"Are you seriously considering taking them all on by yourself?" Liara inquired with a worried tone in her voice.

"I don't see any other alternatives," Ivy gave an annoyed reply before she began moving the ship into a more ready position to fight.

* * *

"Ivy, Ivy, come back with that," Rex ordered into her earpiece. The message she had received from the pilot in the first place was inaudible, but now she was getting nothing back. "God dammit," the commander cursed under her breath, "Niki, is there any way to get in there? We have to hurry. I think something's gone wrong on the surface."

Dr. Vang glanced to her left, seeing something that looked like it might be an entrance to the room in front of her. She pushed off the window and walked to the door and pushed the button on its console, but it blinked red. "Ugh, I found the door, but I can't get it open. It looks like it needs some kind of access key or passcode," Niki replied.

The Turian walked over to the window and began inspecting its thickness, density, and strength by tapping his fist on it. He took a step back and rubbed the ends of his two mandibles before turning his head to Rex. "You know, commander," Han began, "a few well-placed sticky grenades wouldn't blow this entire glass enough to harm Ms. Lawson, but I think they would thin it down just enough for us to break through."

The commander gave upon a nod and said, "Good thinking, Han. And it's probably the quickest way in and out. There's no telling how many troops will have to fight through just to get an access key and right now we don't have time. Both of you, take a step back, and on my command, quickly throw sticky to each corner and one in the center of the glass. Got it?" Han and Niki both gave a nod and walked back to the commander standing behind the command console desk. All three of them readied at least two grenades in each hand. "Now!" Rex ordered, and they all through their grenades, one after the other.

Just as planned, the explosion did not blow through the glass, meaning no further harm came to the woman strapped down on the inside of the room. The grenades merely sheared off the outside layer of the glass. The team quickly rushed over with rifles in hand and began slamming the butts of the guns against the weakened glass. It cracked and cracked some more before finally shattering to the ground. Rex and Niki quickly leapt over, careful not to catch themselves on a random shard, and made their way to Miranda. While the commander worked on releasing the restraints, Niki began shaking Miranda's shoulders in an attempt to wake her up.

"Miranda, Miranda," Niki said loudly, "come on, you have to wake up."

Feeling as though her interrogators were back and waking her for another session of questioning, Miranda scowled with her eyes still closed. A faint blue aura came over her body and her fists lit up a bright blue as a strong biotic pulse was forced on Niki and Rex, blowing them back. Realizing her restraints were gone, the ex-Cerberus operative leapt up from the table with the quickness of light, taking up a stance that said she was ready to fight anyone. Miranda looked down at the two groaning figures and gasped, immediately dropping her stance. Han just stood outside the window with his jaw dropped. "Nicole, Commander Williams," Miranda said as she knelt down to the two, "I was starting to think you would never find me."

"I guess that would explain why you just threw us on our asses," Rex replied as Miranda helped her up.

Niki refused her help, getting up on her own. "Do they have Oriana as well?" She asked.

"Fortunately, no," Miranda replied, shaking her head, "I was able to send her away safely before they got to me. Besides, they don't have a use for her anymore. They wanted me to help them get Shepard back, but at this point, I don't even know how to do that. Not without the original body. I don't know what they're thinking. It's practically impossible."

* * *

Above Trebin, things were going from bad to worse. Even connected to the Normandy, Ivy was having trouble taking on all the Cerberus ships by herself. Liara felt helpless, not being able to do anything but sit there and watch while being rocked back-and-forth whenever the Normandy took on fire. All she could do was hope and pray that they wouldn't take on the same fate as the first Normandy. Suddenly, Liara caught a glimpse out the corner of her eye of a red beam striking a Cerberus ship it exploding it.

"By the Goddess," the asari gasped as she turned her head to confirm what she saw, "a Reaper."

It was indeed a Reaper that had seemingly come to the rescue. However, it wasn't just any Reaper. Liara knew those glowing yellow eyes from anywhere and she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing.

It was Harbinger.


	18. Chapter 18

**So, yeah, I have to get into shape by March and learn how to make not one, but two, sets of N7 armor (one really messed up and one pristine) because I just found out that Jennifer Hale, Mark Meer, and Steve Blum are going to be at a convention near my home. Oh yeah, I have a fanfic to write. Sorry, just had a little fan girl moment there.**

**2286**

**Chapter 18**

The enormous killing machine known as Harbinger was tearing through the middle of the Cerberus fleet like a hot knife through butter. Dr. T'soni watched the display of sheer power from the Reaper on the Cerberus forces with wide eyes, all the while hoping that it wouldn't be coming for them next. She heard a groan from the pilot next to her, turning her head see what was wrong.

"Ivy?" Liara said hesitantly. The next thing she knew, Harbinger destroyed a close by dreadnought that was attempting to deliver a killing blow to the Normandy. The explosion from the enemy ship's mass effect field core made everything inside the Normandy rattle violently.

The redhead groaned again, only this time it appeared as if she were trying to move but could not, only managing a few twitches from her body. "S–something's wrong," Ivy gasped, "I can't disconnect from the ship." Sudden power surges throughout the ship caused the lighting on the inside to flicker.

What happened next frightened Liara beyond words. Ivy's glowing green irises turned into a bright gold. Sparks shot from her hand in the consoles that they were connected to is one her body jerked once before going completely frozen again. The only thing that moved was her mouth. "Assuming direct control," came from the pilot's throat with a demonic sound. A small trickle of blood ran down from her left nostril.

The Shadow Broker pushed herself halfway out from her seat and with an angry expression on her face shouted at the Reaper just outside the window, "Stop it! Let her go! What do you want from us?"

"I want nothing," Harbinger replied through Ivy, "Turn back and save your friends. I will neutralize this situation." After saying what it had to say, the Reaper let go of its hold on Ivy.

The pilot, who was sitting forward, fell back into her seat as she finally disconnected from the ship. She winced and brought a hand to her head feeling a horrible ache. "Agh, you fucking asshole," Ivy cursed, "You couldn't have just said that over the ship's comm speakers?!" She growled and began changing course towards the planet below. The Normandy zoomed down into Trebin's atmosphere. Liara was still frozen from the bizarre event.

"Ivy, do you have a copy?!" came the voice of Commander Williams over the speakers.

"Finally," Ivy shouted, "I was wondering when you would come up for air! Cerberus has been all over our asses!"

* * *

Rex, Niki, Miranda, and Han had to fight through hoards of armed Cerberus troops to make their way back to the surface. Having finally made it to the outside of the facility, they began running towards the Mako.

"Yeah, well, it's the same story down here," the commander snapped back at Ivy on her earpiece, "Now, we just have to find a quick way for you to pick us up in the Mako."

"Mako?" Miranda asked, almost in disbelief, "You used a Mako for a mission like this? What were you thinking? Why not just a Kodiak, or maybe a Hammerhead?"

"Let's test out the Mako she said," Niki replied, "It will be fun she said."

"It was fun," Han interjected, "until the thresher maw tried to eat us."

"Ok, so I had a brief moment of poor judgment," Rex said, "but we are still alive so far."

They all jumped into the tank and Rex started up the engine quickly taking off. As they began riding off, cannon fire began exploding into the ground close enough to rock the Mako, sending dirt into the air and leaving deep craters. The commander brought up a small screen that showed camera feed from the back of the tank, acting as a review mirror.

"Shit," Rex said, "Cerberus Hammerheads. And our cannon doesn't work."

"We're as good as dead," Niki groaned.

"Not if I have anything to do with it," the Turian said as he popped open a circular hatch on roof near the back, "I brought something special along." Han sounded so proud of himself as he protruded from the opening on the tank holding what looked like a hair dryer with an enormous barrel. "Say hello to my little friend," he said trying to imitate an old human movie he watched a long time ago. He pulled the trigger on the gun, holding it down to charge the weapon. Once it was fully charged, the gun shot out a twirling and whizzing ball of light. The recoil was so harsh that if Han hadn't had the hatch door behind him, he might have flown out of the tank. The shell flew right into the middle of the Hammerhead swarm, exploding with nuclear force, eliminating most of the flying vehicles, critically damaging the rest. Han would have smirked if he could, feeling like a badass as he shrunk back down into the Mako.

"Jesus Christ, Han," Rex exclaimed, "Where the hell did you acquire a XXL Cain?!" The weapon in question was a large step up from the original Cain. It packed a much meaner punch since it was designed for bigger jobs. However, it was extremely expensive and hard to find, being the Rolls Royce of heavy weaponry.

"Eh, I have my ways," he replied with a nonchalant shrug.

The commander suddenly slammed on the brakes, steering to the right causing the tank to drift to a stop. Just as they thought they were in the clear, another hoard of Cerberus forces had been coming at them from ahead and both sides. "Damnit! We're surrounded!" Rex exclaimed.

Suddenly, two Thanix cannon shots came from above, obliterating one ground fleet. Then, a giant red beam took out another. The explosions sent crumbs of the earth shooting sky high as if multiple mortar rounds were being dropped. Harbinger, now finished with taking out the ships above the planet, circled around with its death laser eliminating the rest of the ground forces.

Miranda saw the giant Reaper out of the small window of the Mako and tried refocusing her eyes because she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "My God, it can't be. It is. That's Harbinger."

"You're kidding me," Rex said, "You mean THE Harbinger?"

"I don't care who it is," Han said, shaking his head, "It just saved our asses."

With the threat of Cerberus in the vicinity gone, the Normandy began flying down toward the Mako for extraction. However, Harbinger descended into the ship's trajectory, facing the Mako, casting a monstrous shadow over the tank. Just one of the Reaper's tentacle like limbs made the tank look like an old school RC car.

Rex gulped as she and the others slowly exited the Mako to stare up at the hulking beast before them. "You saved us," the commander stated, "Why?"

"Shepard," was the only reply.

"What about her?" Miranda inquired.

"The Crucible changed us," Harbinger gargled out, its golden eyes blinking with every syllable, "Shepard's thoughts, morals, values are now our code. We live because she allowed it. We help because she demanded it. We die if we refuse her code."

"That doesn't explain why you just came out of nowhere to aid us," Rex shouted up to it.

"Liara T'soni was in immediate danger, a top priority written into our code," the Reaper replied, "Also, I have come to deliver a message."

'_Goddess, if that's the case, I wonder if the Reapers have been watching me from a distance all this time. Shepard, what happened up there?' _Liara thought to herself. All the current events had bewildered and shocked her to the core. It was so overwhelming for her. She put a palm over her forehead with her eyes closed, sighing, the same way she always did when she was mentally exhausted.

"What sort of message?" asked Williams.

"I have the location of T'soni's daughter," it replied.

"Kota," Rex gasped, "What? How? No, forget that. Where is she?"

"I will forward the coordinates to your ship," Harbinger said monotonously, "There is something else. This is the same facility that Cerberus is holding the one we call Guardian. Guardian has decided to no longer defend itself, therefore, it cannot escape its bindings. You must free Guardian. It will assist you in your efforts against Cerberus as I have assisted you here."

"Looks like we can get two birds with one stone," Han said with a slight chuckle.

"This explains a lot," Niki muttered, entering in some notes on her omnitool with a grin.

"Unconceivable," Miranda whispered to herself.

"Well, I never thought I would be saying this, but, um, thank you, Harbinger," Rex said, tilting her head forward.

"We will come in force when you are ready to eradicate Cerberus," was the last thing the Reaper spoke before levitating skywards, slowly at first, and then shooting off to disappear in an instant.

* * *

The trip to the Citadel had been a smooth and quiet one. After filing her report, the Council ordered Rex to come back to Earth and the Citadel. For some reason, they wanted to speak with Miranda urgently. The ex-Cerberus operative had an uneasy feeling about it all, which was unusual for her. She didn't know what to expect, nor did she really want to have to deal with any politics of the Council. Back in the old days, Shepard usually handled the messy end of that spectrum, whether the late commander liked it or not. She walked to the end of the elongated platform that stood before the Council, her black hair swaying and bobbing with her movements. If she were at all nervous, her icy blue eyes didn't show it.

Rex was walking up the final flight of stairs towards the Council Chambers when she saw James waiting for her at the top. "Come on, they've already started," he said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder.

"Geez, do they ever wait for everyone to show up first," Rex scoffed.

"I think you're all absolutely mad," Miranda snapped at the five public figures before her as she snarled. She looked like she had just been given a great insult. Well, in her mind, she had been.

"Ms. Lawson, as we understand it, you know more about Cerberus than anyone standing in this room right now," Marshall Nixon said with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Uh, what's going on?" Rex asked as she walked up, being completely out of the loop.

Miranda turned to the commander with anger written all over her face and replied, "They want me to go back to Cerberus, as a mole, to deceive and infiltrate them."

"Whoa," Rex said with a gaping mouth as she turned to the Council and cleared her throat, "That's a pretty tall and dangerous request, don't you think?"

"It would better our chances of being rid of them," Valern replied, giving a wave of his hand.

"Hold on," Vega interrupted, "What makes you think they would take her back anyways?"

"Exactly," Miranda added.

"You stated that they believe you have the knowledge to resurrect Commander Shepard once again," Tevos started, "Even if you truly don't, you've done it before. They would be inclined to believe you over anyone else. You are still a valuable asset to them. You can use that to your advantage, even if it means feeding them false information."

Bakara crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one bulky leg and glared at the asari councilor. "I don't like it," she grumbled, "Sounds like a suicide mission."

"We know it wouldn't be her first," Nixon replied, "Sparatus?"

The Turian councilor crossed his arms behind his back, straightening his stance. "I agree with Tevos."

"You're asking too much," Miranda said with an elevated tone, "Besides, I don't have the proper resources available to me to pull off such a thing."

Nixon put a hand to his chin, his thumb rubbing the crease in the middle. "We could…make said resources available," he said with some hesitance as he glanced over to Tevos.

Tevos gave a nod of agreement to the human councilor before sharing a glance with the other three councilors. Valern did not react for the moment, just standing there in thought. Bakara gave a nod to show she agreed with what the other two were thinking. Sparatus immediately shook his head and waved both his hands.

"No," the Turian spat out, "I'd rather her not do the mission than to give her too much power and have her turn on us. She is ex-Cerberus after all."

"You bastard," Miranda snarled, "You have some nerve to think I would ever 'actually' join up with them again after they tried to kill me!"

"First Contact blood still staining your suit, Councilor?" Nixon said slyly, narrowing his eyes at the turian to his left, "Maybe you still have cold feet from walking on thin ice due to, 'Ah, yes, Reapers.'"

Sparatus' mandibles twitched as he took quick step towards Nixon, rearing a fist back, but suddenly a stasis field caught his arm. The Turian looked over his shoulder to see Tevos holding him back.

"Gentlemen, this is no place for that," she said with a firm tone, as she let the Turian go, "This meeting has nothing to do with those two topics, Councilor Nixon. Sparatus, Ms. Lawson is a very intelligent and smart woman. She helped in the Reaper War. If it weren't for her we would have had Shepard to end the war. She is also a very well trained and powerful biotic. With the proper resources at her disposal, there is no doubt she can pull this off."

The Salarian Councilor, who had been undecided, finally gave a nod and spoke, "Yes, with that in consideration, the Asari Councilor makes a valid point."

Sparatus shook his head, placing his hands on his console, shifting his upper body weight onto his arms. "I swear, when this whole Cerberus mess has been dealt with, I'm retiring. Everywhere I turn, I'm being undermined and ganged up on," he grumbled, "Fine. Let's vote."

All five councilors nodded and looked down at their consoles and began tapping a few keys. Councilor Tevos lifted her head and looked at Miranda. "Miranda Lawson, please step forward." Miranda nodded and complied. "It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

"Spectres aren't trained, but chosen. Individuals forged from the fire and service of battle," Bakara followed up.

"Those who actions elevate them above the rank and file," Valern added.

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will," Nixon said as he leaned forward.

Sparatus straightened his stance once again to give the final dramatic piece of the induction speech. "Spectres bear a great burden. Both our first and last line of defense, the safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."


	19. Chapter 19

**Ok, just for a fair warning, things are about to go slightly non-canon. Only slightly. Technically, in my mind, from the way I've interpreted the green ending, it's still canon. However, if you're strictly only for canon, please turn back. I don't want to upset anyone. I would also like to thank everyone who has been keeping up with the story and letting me know what you think. Oh, and not too long ago, a reader informed me that Anto is actually gone. I wanted to you thank you for letting me know. I had no idea. I plan on going back and correcting that mistake. I want to make it as canon as possible, but in some cases, like you'll see in this chapter, I can't for the story's sake. But with Anto, I can certainly understand that. Thank you so much for reviewing. I really appreciate it. Ok, here we go. Moment of truth…**

**2286 **

**Chapter 19**

Hawk was leant up against a wall near a rapid transport console with her arms crossed. Green eyes kept moving back and forth as though she was looking for someone in the many people who passed by. A few more minutes went by and finally, she spotted the woman she was looking for walking in her direction. She bit her bottom lip and whistled to catch the attention of Miranda Lawson. "Hey, c'mere."

Miranda had a confused expression as she approached the woman who resembled Commander Shepard. "You," she said with narrow eyes, "You're one of those clones. What do you want?"

"I want to do you a favor," Kacie replied with a smirk that caused her lip piercings to extend slightly, "I know you're going to infiltrate you know who."

"Go on."

"Not here," Hawk turned to the console and hailed a cab, "C'mon." She gestured to the skycar as it landed in front of them.

They both entered the car and Miranda waited for the doors to close and the cab to take off before she suddenly grabbed Kacie around her shoulders, producing her pistol, pressing the barrel of it beneath the blonde's chin. "You're working for the bastards," Miranda said with an ice cold tone, her brows pointed down, "aren't you?"

Kacie wasn't fazed by the interaction, the smirk still frozen on her face. "How did you guess?"

The brunette scowled and pressed the gun harder into Hawk's flesh. "I can smell them from a mile away," she said, "Start talking. You're not in a very good position right now. I will kill you."

"Relax, I'm only here to help you," Kacie started, "Yes, I have been working for Cerberus, but I'm a double agent. I was doing what you're about to do to them, but they think I'm working on sabotaging Rex's mission. In all actuality, if it weren't for me, Rex and her crew would be dead right now. Yes, they have been throwing entire fleets at us left and right, but that just goes to show you how big they've gotten while everyone was rebuilding and focusing on other things. They could have done much worse, but every time we've attacked them, I've sent the majority of them off on wild goose chases."

"That won't last. They'll figure you out."

"They are already catching up with me," Kacie said with a nod, "But that's where you come in. However, you have to win the Illusive Man over again, and that's not going to be easy after what you did in the Reaper War. Even if you did have a real way to bring the Shep back, it wouldn't be enough. He would just take your data and kill you. You know that. That's where I can help you."

"Keep talking," Miranda said, still not budging with the gun.

"Expose me," Hawk simply replied.

"What?"

"Expose me as a traitor. I'll give you all the evidence you need. I'm a bigger threat to Cerberus than he thinks. I've top secret intel on Cerberus and he knows it. If you're the one to find this out and tell him, he will have to take you back. He might even send you after me, and in that case, we can just piss around and fool him some more."

"You're forgetting how powerful I am. He knows and would expect I would take you down easily," Miranda finally backed off, putting away her weapon.

"He knows how good I am at escaping sticky situations. He will expect it to be a challenge for you."

Lawson narrowed her eyes, "And what are you getting out of this?"

The blonde chuckled and leaned onto the arm rest. "I get to leave Cerberus."

"That's easier said than done," Miranda sighed, "Fine, I'll do it, but let me tell you one thing." She pointed a finger to Kacie, looking very serious. "If this gets my daughter hurt or you even think of hurting her in any way, you will have a lot more than the Illusive Man to worry about. Am I clear?"

"You know I used to be a bounty hunter after her, right?"

The cab landed and when the doors opened, Kacie stumbled out holding her abdomen, keeling over to her knees. A glowing blue fist had been slammed into her stomach after her last statement causing all the air to rush from her lungs. Miranda just walked nonchalantly past the former bounty hunter saying, "Don't forget what I said."

"D-don't hurt Niki," Kacie gasped for air, waving a hand haphazardly, "G-got it."

* * *

Returning to the Normandy, Rex ran into Admiral Vega once again. She gave him a quick salute in which he returned. "You need something, Vega?" she asked.

"No, but I figured you could use some extra help," he replied.

"What do you mean?"

James pivoted slightly and pointed at the ship behind him. "It looked like the Normandy got pretty banged up from where you just came from."

"Yeah," the Spectre let out a sigh, "I don't know how, but Cerberus has managed to acquire entire fleets of ships. If they figure out how to equip them with Reaper like weapons, we're screwed."

The admiral grinned and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Well then, I guess you won't mind a little help from the Sixth Fleet?"

Rex's eyes lit up with a bit of relief. "I would really appreciate that, Admiral. Thank you."

"Heh, no problem. I would like to come with you guys on foot, too. Been a while since I got into some real action," he replied. Vega had a strange, nervous sort of tone in his body language. He looked as though something was not settling right with him.

"Yeah, sure of course," she smirked, "Um, this is kinda sudden. Any particular reason you're suddenly wanting to go?"

"Eheh, no reason," he closed his eyes and put on a fake smile as he lifted his arm to scratch the back of his scalp, tearing his blue sleeve at the arm pit in the process, "Dammit!" However, the torn fabric was about to be the least of his worries.

"Admiral Vega!" shouted an angered General Williams from behind Rex.

"Dios mio," James said as he hung his head, shaking it.

"Did you have anything to do with Miranda Lawson's promotion?" Ashley said in a firm, martial tone. She was now standing in front of him with her hand gripped tightly behind her back. "Perhaps a recommendation?"

"Mmm, perhaps," he replied hesitantly before gulping. James closed his eyes when he thought he saw a fist swinging towards his face. After a moment, when he realized all his teeth were still in his mouth, he popped one eye open to see a finger in his face with angry eyes behind it.

"I certainly hope you know what you're doing, Admiral, for your sake," the general whispered in a dark tone.

Rex hand her own hands up, about half to her chest, to defend herself even though she was in no immediate danger of a slug, having slowly taken a few steps back. Her mom could be frightening with her temperament sometimes. Rex sometimes wondered if Ashley had learned some of her tactics from Shepard. She had heard that in the old days, Shepard was a master at intimidation.

"Well don't just shout it out to the whole world, General Williams," he whispered back with a scowl, "You do know her mission is top secret."

"Fine, whatever," Ashley backed off, "But, I am coming with you and your fleet for this one. Y'know, 'Spectre' business. Councilor Tevos is intent on making sure this 'Guardian' is safe. Oh, the irony. Seems just like yesterday the bastards were obliterating us. Now we have to save their asses because they won't fight back and apparently we need them now."

"Well," Rex sounded exasperated, "This will be interesting."

"How exactly did you manage to find out where it was?" Ashley asked, turning towards her daughter.

"Uh, well you see, that's actually an interesting story," Rex replied nervously, "I would say a little birdie told me, but it was actually a big Harbinger."

General Williams nearly fell over. The last time she had seen the Reaper leader, it had nearly smeared she and Liara with a Mako. "You're sure it was him?"

"Yeah, and the thing is," Rex began, "the Reapers won't continuously sit by idly while others attack them. They will eventually fight back. We watched Harbinger decimate an entire Cerberus fleet. We don't need them to be provoked any more than they are. I don't want to know the outcome of other species' militaries if one of these things snaps. Honestly, the scenario that keeps running through my head is a domino effect."

"You mean the entire galaxy turning on them," James said, "and in effect, the entire Reaper forces turning on the galaxy for full scale war."

"No," Ashley intervened, "That's not going to happen. We didn't lose Shepard just let the Reapers attempt to destroy us again."

"You're right," Rex agreed, "Her sacrifice won't be in vain. I'll make sure of it."

* * *

The sun had just come up over the uneven horizon of snow capped mountains. Rays peaked through the blinds of the window in his bedroom, the light rousing him from his slumber. He shifted slightly and gently laid his wife's head from his chest to the pillow he was just resting on so as to not wake her right away. He smiled briefly, enjoying the sight of the woman asleep. He scratched his thickened dark reddish beard, yawning, before slinging his house coat over his shoulders. He put his feet into a pair of slippers before making his way down the hall to enter the kitchen. The man started a pot of coffee. He could have made a cup instantly, but sometimes he just preferred certain things like they were in the old days. After the coffee finished brewing, he poured some into a mug and then sat down at the rectangular metallic kitchen table where he picked up a datapad and began reading the news. On the front page was a picture that made him spit the first sip of his joe out, spraying it on the table.

Footsteps coming from the hall halted in front of the table. "Is something wrong, Jeff?" her voice spoke softly as she stifled a yawn. EDI pushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes as she walked over to the counter to get a cloth to wipe the table clean. She allowed her hair to soften like normal whenever she went to sleep since it was more comfortable, and every now and then, she would go all day with it down or pulled into a bun or pony tail. Usually, though, EDI kept the strands hardened as it was easier to maintain.

"Nah, just a reminder of the good old days. And there's Liara," Joker answered as he held up the datapad to show her. There was a picture of Commander Alex Williams, Liara next to her, and some of Rex's crew behind her. The picture captured Rex firing a pistol at al-Jilani's vid-cam, Liara flaring her biotics, and seemingly in the background, was of course, their daughter pumping a fist in the air triumphantly with a big grin on her face. And behind her, the new Normandy SR-3 was slightly visible, but recognizable nonetheless.

EDI looked over the translucent blue-lit pad and to Joker, giving him a soft smile before walking around behind him placing her hands on his shoulders. "You miss her," she said softly.

"Ah, don't get all mushy on me," he replied as he set down the news report. It was some tabloid crap about Spectres having too much authority. He felt EDI's hands tighten on his shoulders. "But, yeah, I miss her. She grew up too quick."

She let go of him and walked over to pour her own cup of coffee before returning to sit by his side, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I am curious as to what Dr. T'soni was doing with them," EDI said.

Joker scratched the side of his temple and shrugged. "Yeah, I was kinda wonderin' about that myself. Must be something big if she finally decided to come out of hiding. I'll have to call her later today just to catch up."

EDI lifted her head up as he spoke and waved a hand over her nose. "Please make it a priority to brush your teeth first. I'm not letting you eat anything with onions or garlic for dinner from now on," she said with a slight, playful laugh.

He shot her an un-amused look before she got up and left the kitchen to go get dressed. "That better be a joke, EDI."

* * *

The Illusive Man looked up from the datapad in his hand that wasn't holding a smoke and up to the hologram of the woman before him, staring with narrow eyes. Miranda knew that look. He was angry on the inside that one of his top agents had been playing him all this time, planning to sabotage all the work he had done since the end of the Reaper War, a century's worth of effort.

He sat the datapad on the armrest of his chair and took a long drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out slowly, almost cautiously, sitting in complete silence, aside from the slight hum of the station. "I should have caught this myself," he broke the silence.

"But you didn't," the former operative added.

"No, you did," he replied, putting his fingertips together, still holding onto the burning rolled up tobacco, "And you really believe you have a way to bring Shepard back?"

"Of course. I did it before. Why can't I do it again?"

"Without the original body it is extremely difficult. What reasons do you have for wanting to rejoin the cause?" he asked looking at the woman suspiciously.

"Yes, but with the concept you are trying, it is entirely possible," she said, "Look, I gave you the evidence on Hawk. I can bring Shepard back, but only if you let me. The choice yours. You can take it or leave it."

"I always knew I could count on you, Miranda," the Illusive Man replied, taking another puff of smoke before extinguishing his cigarette, "Welcome back to Cerberus." At this point, he was getting nowhere with bringing the real Shepard back. He needed someone familiar with the work, even if it were someone who had betrayed him in the past. He needed answers. He needed the truth.

* * *

After a few days of traveling through the Traverse, the Normandy and the Sixth Fleet were finally converging in on the coordinates Harbinger had given them. Most of the time was spent preparing, but Ashley and James had found the time to play catch up with Liara. They were both shocked to see her, even if they had heard she was aboard before. It had just been so long. They were also dumbfounded when they came to find out that Kota was actually a last ditch effort to preserve a part of Shepard in case the commander hadn't survived, which she didn't. Laughs and tears were shared at the same time as they reminisced on the good old days.

Commander Williams stood behind Ivy as they made their approach. "Stealth systems engaged?"

"Yes, Commander," Ivy replied, "You know, I'm already nervous as it is with Alliance brass with us. You standing there watching my every move doesn't make it any better."

"Relax Ivy," Rex said, "They're not here to evaluate us. They're just here to assist us."

"Doesn't mean they still won't evaluate us," the redhead said. Suddenly, all the sensors began going off the charts. "Holy shit, it's good thing they are here though. Look at all those ships. This place is heavily fortified. No way we could take this on our own."

"We are ready when you are, Commander Williams," came Vega's voice over the speakers, "Just give the word and we'll take on their defenses while you go in."

"Alright, you ready, Ivy?"

The pilot brought up her consoles and nodded before lighting up green. "Let's do this!"

"Alright, Admiral, you can begin your advance," Rex replied.

* * *

The station's floors began rumbling beneath Kota's feet as she was making her rounds. Suddenly, the piercing sound of alarms began racing through the hallways, red lights flashing above. She paused for a moment, looking around, before bolting off to go find Damian. Thankfully, he was not too far away as he was just coming around the corner when she bumped into him. "What's going on?!" she shouted.

"Your damn friends with Alliance have sprang a coup on this station!" he angrily shouted back, "How did they know we were here?! Did you tell them?!"

The asari looked insulted by such accusations. She had no contact with anyone outside the station since she had left Rex and her mother behind. "Don't be a fool! I wouldn't even be able to attempt that! We're in deep space!"

"Well, somebody told them!" A sudden crash was heard not too far from them. They both looked down out from the window that ran along the hallway to see a Kodiak had slammed through the barrier that lay just behind the dormant Reaper they held in custody, landing on the floor just beneath them. Three figures exited the shuttle once the hatch released. It was Rex, General Williams, and Kota's mother.

"Goddess, they're going to get themselves killed," Kota gasped.

"Damn right they are," Damian growled before he shot the asari a glare and ran off.

"No! Wait! Do not harm them!" she yelled as she desperately ran after him.

* * *

Two large unmanned Atlas mechs stomped towards Rex, her mother, and Liara as soon as they jumped from the shuttle. They all rolled for cover as rockets shot by them. Regular Cerberus troops along with Shepard clones converged in on them. Liara began doing what she could to the foot troops with her biotics so Rex and Ash could focus on the Atlases. Rex quickly set her Reverent to armor-piercing mode, as did Ashley.

Rex jumped up from cover and began firing on the hulking mechs. Her armor had a good shield rating so the shots fired from the troops didn't take them down so fast. One mech launched a rocket at Liara's cover, but it did no harm to the asari. The other machine turned towards Rex's direct and then took a hard stomp back with its left leg before firing its mini-gun, which was powerful and fast enough to almost instantly drop her shields.

"Ergh!" Rex winced as the bullets hit. They didn't tear through her black armor, but they still had an impact hard enough to make her heart pound in her ears. She quickly went back into cover. "Lost shields!"

General Williams took it as a sign that it was her turn to deal some damage. She rose from cover and threw out a grenade into the swarm of troops to take some of the pressure off from Liara, who was now in cool down. She then began focusing her fire on only one of the Atlases, the one that Rex had damaged the most, figuring it would be best to take them down one at a time. However, the other mech had other plans, suddenly striking her with a rocket. Ashley fell back as her shields were immediately gone and pieces of her armor chipped away.

Commander Williams lunged for her mother grabbing her to pull her back safely into cover. "Mom! You ok?!"

"Yes, I'm fine," Ash winced, "Trust me, kid, I've taken worse spills." She clicked her omnitool to make her suit apply medi-gel where needed.

"CEASE FIRE!" a male voice shouted from behind the hoard of troops. Immediately, all gunshots halted. Damian Brent made his way from behind the Atlases towards the front lines of the troops. "Show your faces!"

Ashley's face contorted to a look of sheer anger. She knew that voice from anywhere. "That God forsaken piece of shit!" She, Liara, and Rex slowly rose from cover. Rex looked just as pissed as a her mother.

The chaos may have quieted on the inside, the outside was a different story. It was almost an even match between Cerberus and the Sixth Fleet, but James knew he was slightly better. Cerberus ships exploded against the massive station, making it feel like an earthquake to anyone on the inside.

"Oh this is gonna be fun," Damian sneered with an undeniably evil smirk, "I get to kill the both of you at the same time. And then, I'm going to find the boy and put him in the ground, too." He cracked his knuckles and his neck as he walked closer towards them.

Suddenly, Kota came running up behind him. "No! Leave them be!" she ordered him before turning towards the other three, "You need to cease your attack and leave now!"

"Not without you!" Rex snapped back.

"I can't leave here. This work is too important. Destroying the Reapers and bringing back Shepard is too important," Kota replied.

"Destroying the Reapers?!" Rex said with disbelief, "They are already fighting back! Do you want to cause an all out war that could kill us all?!"

"Heh, we have the upper hand on them now," Damian said, walking around and past Kota, "We've figured out their weaponry. The Illusive Man has already ordered to begin the process of equipping new ships with them. Soon, no one in the galaxy will be able to stop us. Don't get me wrong. We won't just spring a coup right away on the Citadel. He knows that was a mistake the last time. That's what Shepard is for. Shepard will be the perfect person to fool the entire galaxy into compromising with Cerberus. Hell, we've already begun infiltrating the other species."

"You bastard!" Kota scowled, "You said you didn't know why!"

He just rolled his eyes. "I lied. It's what I do best," he said, smirking at Ash, "Isn't that right, sweetie?"

That set the commander off. She suddenly lunged at Damian, her fist slamming into his mouth just as he had done to her in their previous encounter. Blood spurted from the side of his mouth as he faltered back. She swung a hook with her opposite fist, but her father caught it.

"Nice try, kid," he grinned with bloody teeth as he kneed her in the abs.

The wind was knocked from her, but Rex didn't let it slow her down as she reared her head back and headbutted his nose with the force of a Krogan. Damian suddenly let go of her fist and reeled back holding his hands over his now crushed and bloodied nose. Rex turned to the others and shouted, "I'll hold him off! You guys need to figure out how to release Guardian!"

Brent's pain soon became the fuel to the fire of his rage and this sent him charging ramming into Rex. Soon, the two were in hand to hand combat, fists and feet flying at each other, some connecting, some missing, and some being blocked. Damian would soon regret not having given the order for the troops and mechs to resume fire.

Liara ran to a console and began trying to figure out a way to release the kinect barrier restraints that held Guardian down. She didn't know how such a miniscule thing could do that to such a large and powerful being such as a Reaper. Unfortunately, everything she tried wasn't working. Cerberus had gotten better on their security. "Damnit!" she cursed.

Metal from the ceiling began falling down and smashing to the ground. The station was taking a heavy beating from the fight outside. It was obvious the place was coming apart. "C'mon, Liara! Hurry!" Ashley shouted.

"I can't get by their firewalls!" she shouted back.

Rex was getting the better of Damian. She had her hand clasped tightly around the back of his neck and was throwing repeated punches into his abdomen. Eventually, the man went to his knees, gasping for air. The commander gave a, "Hmph," as she narrowed her eyes, glaring down at him, happy to have finally brought the sorry excuse for a man down.

Unfortunately, her victory was short lived. It happened so fast, but at the same time it was like a dramatic slow motion scene from a movie. As he pushed himself up, the arm with his omnitool that was across his abdomen flung up at the same time, release a bright orange blade that whipped across the commander's face, crimson droplets floating into the air in the same direction the blade was going. Kota shrieking Rex's name snapped Ashley back towards the fist fight.

The commander fell to her knees, holding her profusely bleeding face. She didn't know how bad it looked, but she did know one thing. Her right eye was gone.

Kota drew her pistol on Damian but as soon as she did, he slapped it from her with one hand, using his other to snatch her up by the throat. He lifted the younger asari from her feet as he began applying unbearable pressure to her neck. She grasped at his large hand, gasping for air.

Hearing her daughter in sudden distress, Liara immediately turned from the console, her biotics flaring. However, before she could even get anything out, something else happened.

Wind blew within the station as the Reaper gave out its sudden call that sounded like a demonic cruise ship horn. Damian froze in place as Guardian snapped from its restraints and its faceplate slid back revealing one giant red glowing eye. Guardian looked different from other Reapers, being a grayish tint rather than purple. "Release her," it spoke out. As if being compelled to do so, he immediately dropped the asari. Kota dropped to her knees, holding her neck, taking in deep breaths of air.

Ashley had rushed to Rex's side and managed to pry her daughter's hands from her face in order to apply some medi-gel to enormous gash across her face.

"I suggest you all get off this station," Guardian said, "Tell your team to meet me on the other side of the relay that you took to get here. I will take care of the rest here."

Its voice sounded different from other Reapers Liara thought. It had a more feminine quality to it. But did Reapers even have gender identity? When she turned to rush to Kota's side, Damian had vanished, running to escape no doubt. It was the least of her worries though. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly as she helped her daughter up.

The asari Spectre gave a slight nod before looking over towards Rex and Ashley. "We should go."

Ashley carefully guided Rex into the Kodiak with Liara and Kota close behind, the pilot taking off towards the fight that ensued outside. Both Cerberus and the Sixth Fleet were taking on casualties. "Vega, we need to fall back!" the General shouted into her earpiece.

"Did you free that thing?!" James yelled back.

"Roger. We need to fall back to the relay and wait on the other side," she replied, "Guardian is going to clean up things here."

"Copy that," Vega answered, "All ships, fall back. Time to head back for the relay."

Rex suddenly slammed a fist against the wall of the shuttle, leaving a deep dent, but no sound came from her throat even though she was gritting her teeth so tightly she thought they might shatter.

"Hey," Ashley said softly as she sat next to her taking her hand, "It's ok. We'll get you fixed up. And then that asshole is going to pay."

The commander lifted her head, her one eye glowing green with anger. "With his life," she said huskily.

Guardian was warding off any other Cerberus ships attacking them allowing the shuttle to make it back to the Normandy safely. When all the Alliance ships were a safe distance away, it turned to face the station that once held it captive and aimed for the section that retained its nuclear power core. The Reaper shot a single red beam at the target causing the station to immediately explode, destroying all that remained of the Cerberus fleet.

* * *

All of them, aside from the ships on the Sixth Fleet that didn't survive the battle, eventually made it back to the relay. Guardian had managed to catch up with them quite quickly. Niki had managed to close the wound on the commander's face, but it would take a few days to heal and she would have to wait until they made it to the Citadel in order to make her a new synthetic eye. For now, Rex holed herself up in her room, laying in bed with bandages covering her torn face. She swore to herself that one way or another, she would kill the man that gave her life and then tried to take it away.

Guardian was flying side by side with the Normandy and Vega's ship. "You should know," it spoke over the speakers of both ships, "You don't have to worry about another galactic war with us."

Ashley, who was standing on the bridge of the Normandy with Liara and Kota, crossed her arms and furrowed her brows. "Is that so? How come?"

"I won't let them," it replied, "But should you choose to let the people of the galaxy eradicate us, it will be your doom. We can help you expand outside this galaxy. If you can't do that, you will drain the Milky Way of all its life."

"You're talking about that relay that's being built in secret," Liara said, "You were helping them."

"Yes."

"Just hold on," Kota interrupted, "How do we know this isn't just a trap? Why should we trust you? You could just be allowing us to grow and prosper more. Maybe you decided you started your last cycle too early. Maybe you're just waiting for the right moment ripening before you attempt to harvest us again. And we all have speculated that there is a great probability for more advance species in other galaxies. How do we not know you aren't just using us to get to them as well?"

"You have a few good valid points," Liara agreed.

Ashley swore she could hear the Reaper letting out a sigh. Reapers had never shown emotional signs of frustration, so that was weird in her mind.

"Forgive me," it said before it's eye lit up white.

Vega, who hadn't put himself anywhere near the conversation, felt a sudden pulse go through his body before he slumped over. The same thing happened with Kota, Liara, and Ashley. Ivy turned her seat around, her eyes wide, "What the hell man? You could at least give a warning."

* * *

Liara awoke on her hands and knees, staring down at a pristine white floor. She was trying to suck air into her lungs, but found she could not. It was apparent that Ash, James, and her daughter were attempting the same thing as she could hear them. She noticed two black boots step into her view and an armored knee came down into contact with the floor. A white and red striped hand rested gently on her left shoulder. "Breath," came that voice she had yearned to hear for a century that seemed like an entire asari lifetime. Liara gasped, air finally surging into her body as she looked up into the grayish blue eyes that matched the voice.

**Phew, I've been driving myself nuts with this chapter. I knew I was never going to sleep right unless I got it done. I know that was a long one, but like the other long chapter I did, it is a major turning point in the story. Well, I know you're either gonna hate it or love it, so just lay it on me. Let me know what you think.**


	20. Chapter 20

**2286**

**Chapter 20**

Her blue eyes glossed over as tears filled them to their brink, spilling over, rushing down her blue cheeks like a broken dam. She looked into the eyes of the one who laughed in the face of death. Of course, her first thoughts were that of disbelief, and not of just surprised disbelief, but logical disbelief. Liara thought maybe she had slipped into another dream or perhaps this was a Reaper indoctrination trick and her daughter was right about what she had previously said. However, her instinct told her otherwise. The only person she would let into her heart completely, the Savior of the Galaxy, the Commander Shepard, was staring back at her, thin lips pursed into a gentle warm smile. The red glow in Shepard's eyes that had been accompanied by matching red scars across her face had disappeared, but nonetheless, everything within Liara told her that this was indeed Shepard. Even still, she had to ask with weakness and hesitation in her voice, "Is it really you?"

Shepard, still on one knee, took her hand from the asari's shoulder and gently placed it upon her cheek, leaning forward to press her forehead to Liara's. "See for yourself," she whispered as she closed her eyes.

Initiating a meld, Liara's eyes swirled with blackness as she delved into her lover's consciousness. Within both their minds, Shepard was holding her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Liara quickly routed to memories that only she and Shepard shared, and no one else.

"_It is time to be completely honest with each other. These could be our last moments together. Our last chance to show each other how we feel. I want this to be special."_

"_We don't have to do this. Not unless you're sure."_

"_I have never been more sure of anything in my life."_

…

"_Aren't you going to tell me not to work with them?"_

"_I gave them your body, remember? What should I say? And I trust you. You'll stick to your beliefs no matter what Cerberus wants. So tell me what you want. If this all ends tomorrow…what happens to us?"_

…

"_It would be easy for a single ship to get lost up there, wouldn't it?"_

"_Yeah, it would."_

"_To find someplace very far away where you could spend the rest of your life…in peace…and happiness."_

"_Hm, right now there's no place I'd rather be."_

"_Neither would I…I love you, Shepard."_

As the meld ended, Shepard whispered the words, "I love you too, Liara." This brought more tears to the asari's eyes as she suddenly clung to the soldier, forcing them both to their feet, wrapping her arms around Shepard's neck. The Commander held Liara as she wept into the side of her neck whispering, "Shh…it's ok."

"No, it's not ok," the asari sobbed, a million emotions flowing over her. She was sad, happy, angry, and shocked all at once.

Their daughter was beginning to rise to her feet, looking up at them both. She immediately felt uncomfortable. There her mother was wrapped up in the arms of her dead father, something she only imagined to see. Kota didn't know what to make of it. Shepard's eyes looked away from Liara and towards her. She instantly turned away, facing the other direction, peering out into nothing but a white abyss. She didn't believe any of this was real.

Ashley, finally having caught her breath, looked up from her position towards the voices she was hearing and gasped. A ghost, a god, a vision, a dream, indoctrination maybe? "Shepard," she let out, "But how?" She pushed herself up to her feet and looked around to see absolute nothingness.

"No, no," James said as he, too, was getting his bearings, "This is a dream or something. I'm just gonna close my eyes, and I'll wake up to reality."

Reluctantly pulling away from the Commander, Liara turned to them and shook her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "No," she said, "It's not a dream. It's really her."

"Well, who I used to be anyways," Shepard started, "I brought you to a level of consciousness where you would see me the way you remember me. I needed you to trust me. What you're seeing now is…my essence I guess you could say. I still don't understand it all myself."

"But why?" the General asked.

"I can't believe I, of all people, am about to say this," Shepard said, "but we need the Reapers. I'm the one who brought it to the asari and humans' attention that this galaxy will not last. I'm the one who instigated the new relay."

"I'm with you there, Commander, one hundred percent," James said, "But do you know why Cerberus wants to destroy you."

The Commander turned to the side and shrugged her shoulders. "As far as I know, revenge. I guess the Illusive Man didn't like that they tricked him," she replied as she scowled, remembering something that made her angry, "And if he succeeds, it will show the galaxy how powerful he has become, leading them to fear him. But he won't do it all at once. He needs their weapons and tech first to destroy the Reapers and then to force everyone else to stand behind him."

"How do we stop him?" Liara asked.

"Locating and killing the bastard," the short haired soldier replied coldly. Shepard had her own reasons as to why she wished nothing but death to the leader of Cerberus. "But we all know how hard it was to find him last time."

Ashley took a step forward and crossed her arms. "We may have a way then."

Shepard blinked and turned back around. "You do? How?"

The Admiral and Ash both shared a glance before looking back towards Shepard. "Miranda," James replied.

"Miranda?"

He gave a nod and said, "She's been given Spectre status and is currently attempting to get the Illusive Man to take her back…to infiltrate Cerberus."

The Commander's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You're kidding me! She's going to get herself killed! Whose idea was this?"

The General shot Vega a look and he immediately threw his hands up. "Whoa, whoa, hey," he said, "The Council came up with the idea to send her in there. I simply gave the recommendation that she be a Spectre. Besides, it was completely her choice."

Shepard just shook her head, worried for her friend. Then, she turned her attention elsewhere, looking towards Kota again. She took a few steps towards the daughter she had never met before. "You," she said, "You've barely spoken a word."

"Shepard, I-," Liara started to intervene, believing this was too soon, but she was stopped as Shepard waved her hand.

Kota turned on her heel, a scowl across her face. "What am I supposed to say?" she snarled, "Nice to meet you, Dad? Happy you're alive as a Reaper?"

The Commander could already see that there had been way too much of her put into this kid. "Hey," she said, "calm down, I was just trying-."

"Just trying to what?" Kota snapped, "Look, you've been around all this time! You could have at least let us know you were alive!"

"For you to see me the way I am now?!" Shepard snapped back, that military renegade tone taking over in her voice, "You think I'm proud of what I've become?!"

"Shepard," Liara said, her tone elevated as she put her hand on the woman's shoulder making her calm down, "How, exactly, did this happen to you?"

The Commander's shoulders slumped, a deep sense of guilt suddenly washing over her, not just from scolding the daughter she wished she could have held as a baby, but there was something else. "Liara, I can't…I-."

"Don't give me that," the older asari scowled, "You broke your promise. I think I at least deserve an explanation."

Shepard turned back to face Liara, looking at her through the top of her eye lids as her head still hung low, the same look the asari had given her on Mars when she told her everything would be alright. How was she supposed to tell the woman she loved that she could have potentially survived in her original state and still win the war? "I…Like I said, I'm not proud…I had to compromise part of who I am…part of my beliefs."

"What do you mean?" Liara looked worried.

"I'm a hypocrite...everything I talked Saren down from…I became," Shepard let out a heavy sigh and waved her hand out to the emptiness. The void they were standing in suddenly transformed into scene. It was almost like a video replay of something in a 360 view, but very realistic. There, she showed them how the Illusive Man forced her to shoot Anderson. They all gasped as they watched. She skipped through what happened next, not wanting to show them the conversation between she and Anderson about Shepard settling down and having kids one day. She felt it was something to be just between her and the man she had considered her father. It was apparent at this point, though, that the man had taken his last breaths before passing on.

_Shepard looked away from Anderson and down at the hand that she had been holding at her side. God, it was covered in so much blood, but that was to be expected. She was just beginning to close her eyes to accept her fate when Hackett's voice came over her earpiece._

"_Shepard," he called out, "Commander."_

_The Commander snapped out of her dying trance and answered, "I, ergh, what do you need me to do?" She began trying to move, something her broken body was just not willing to do. She put one foot on the ground and began to lift her other leg, but she crumbled to the floor instead._

"_Nothing's happening," Hackett replied, "The Crucible's not firing. It's got to be something on your end."_

_Shepard painfully crawled and pulled her body towards the console that she had used to open the Citadel's arms. _

"_Commander Shepard!"_

"_I don't see…ugh…not sure how to…" She reached with all her might towards the console, but it wasn't enough. Everything went dark._

Seeing the love of her life torn and broken, bleeding to death, only brought more tears to Liara's eyes. She had known from the broken pieces of video footage recovered from the Citadel that Shepard was already near death. She had figured the Commander had died in the massive explosions the Crucible inflicted on the station. However, seeing it in such realism was so overwhelming for her.

Now, Shepard showed them where she was, where the Crucible and Citadel connected, and what the Catalyst told her, the Reapers being the solution to chaos between organics and synthetics, harvesting advanced civilizations for their intelligence so that new life could flourish. The holographic AI child gave Shepard three choices. She could outright control the Reapers, something the Illusive Man had set out to do. She could destroy them, but it would come at the cost of all synthetic life. The Catalyst had only mentioned the Geth, but Shepard knew that EDI would be killed in the process, too. Then there was another solution. She could combine both organics and synthetics. No more chances for conflict between the two to arise again. Either way, it looked like Shepard wouldn't be living much longer anyways.

_Shepard looked towards the three platforms before her. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh before she started limping down. Controlling them wasn't something she wanted to do. Why? Stupid as the thought may seem, it was personal. The man who made her kill Anderson wanted that. Destroying them was what she and everyone wanted all along. She had just never intended the Geth and EDI would have to be sacrificed as well. Plus, say she did survive the initial destruction of her implants. How long would she last before someone could get to her and keep her alive long enough to fix her? Shepard slowly made her way down towards the middle, the final evolution of organics. _

_She began walking a bit faster, dropping her pistol down. Shepard reached for her neck and ripped away her dog tags and whispered, "Forgive me" before sprinting and jumping into the beam of light. Her body slowly blackened and disintegrated as she floated through the green light._

Shepard's flashback ended as everything around the group went white again. She looked down towards her feet, feeling disappointed in herself. "I'm sorry," she whispered before looking back up and turning towards Liara, "But…you should know…I didn't break my promise. I'm right here."

"It's alright," Liara walked to her, cupping the woman's face in her hands, "I understand." She looked into her light blue eyes, their lips so close. Liara's lips parted as Shepard's captured them. It was like sweet eternal bliss for the both of them. Those blue lips were saccharine to Shepard. Neither of them wanted to pull away from each other as they had not been able to experience one another's presence for a century now. Remembering they had others among them, the two love birds finally pulled apart.

Ashley cleared her throat and then spoke, "So, I know you chose not to control them, but do you?"

Shepard looked towards the General and shook her head. "No. Well, in a sense. I don't have complete reign over them. They just follow my ideals and beliefs. As my thought processes change, so do theirs. They have free will, but they wouldn't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Now that you're free, what will you do?" Liara asked.

"I need to get back to the relay," Shepard replied as she parted from the asari.

"And what about us?"

The Commander looked down once more, diverting her eyes away. "Liara, I'm a Reaper now…"

With pain in her eyes and heart, the asari took a step back, looking as if someone stabbed her in the chest for a third time. "I see…"


	21. Chapter 21

**2286**

**Chapter 21**

Garrus Vakarian was just returning home from work. It had been a long tiring and boring day of…calibrations. He thought that he should maybe retire soon, maybe he and Tali could move to a nice beach somewhere with plenty of Turian drinks. Not off Rannoch of course. He wouldn't even consider asking the Quarian to live somewhere else after what she and her people had to do to get their home world back. The image in his head was nice, better than working day in and day out. It's not like he even really needed to work. He and Tali weren't rich, but well off enough to enjoy life without working. It was like that when you had a hand in helping save the galaxy from the greatest threat it had ever known. However, Tali was still a part of the Admiralty and it would be easier said than done to get her to leave that behind, no matter how much time had passed.

The Turian walked into the house he and Tali shared, going straight for the bathroom to relieve himself. Tali must have been in the kitchen preparing a meal. He remembered that she had the day off from her busy job. Upon walking into the bathroom, he noticed a large hole in the wall with a black smear around it. Garrus did his business and walked into the kitchen. "Uh, honey," he said, "What happened to the bathroom wall?"

Whitened glowing eyes glanced towards him as Tali looked at her husband over her shoulder. "There was a spider and you were not here to kill it," she replied sounding very serious.

"Let me guess, you used your shotgun," he asked.

Tali gave a nod of affirmation before turning back to the food.

Just then, Garrus' omnitool went off. He was receiving a call from their son, Han. His omnitool lit up orange as he answered the call. "Hey, son," he said as he took a seat on a bar stool at the minibar in their kitchen. It felt good to say those words. Before the war, Garrus had never thought of himself as the parental type. Though, after hearing his best friend talk about wanting kids with a certain blue asari, he thought it might be nice to have a family some day. While on the first Normandy, it never crossed his mind that he would one day be as close to the young Quarian as he was now. It didn't matter to him that Tali was a different species. Adoption was always an option. In this galaxy's case, the war was a double-edged sword. So many people lost their lives, but the galaxy was now united unlike any time before. And though the war took Han's birth parents from him, it brought Han to Garrus and Tali. "Haven't heard from you in a while," Garrus said, "How are things?"

"Oh let's see," the golden-eyed turian replied, sarcasm seething from his voice, "Ah, yes, Reapers, Cerberus trying to destroy Reapers, irony telling us we have to save them…what else is there? Oh yeah, Commander Shepard is a Reaper."

Behind Garrus, Tali dropped all cooking utensils on the floor before suddenly rushing over to put herself in view of her son. "How dare you speak of her like that!"

Han shook his head back and forth quickly. "No, Mom," he said, "I'm not joking. I'm dead serious. Dr. T'soni can tell you."

"Keelah!"

Garrus nearly fell from his seat before he said, "Son, you've gotta keep us updated on stuff like this. Liara is there?"

"Yeah," Han nodded, "Cerberus is also making Shepard clones. We have one on the ship. Oh, and the asari that was with Rex when she visited you guys is Shepard's kid."

"Ok, go back to Shepard being a Reaper," Tali interrupted, "How did that happen?"

Their son just gave a shrug of her shoulders. "I haven't the slightest clue," he said as he turned his head to the left giving a confused look to whoever was in his visual direction, "Uh, I gotta go. I think the humans have gone insane. One of them just pulled a very large…tree…into the mess hall."

"Hey, wait-," Garrus started, but the connection was already lost. He gave a heavy sigh before looking over to Tali. "Shepard's alive."

"I don't like the sound of this, Garrus."

* * *

Kota gave a gentle knock on the front door to Rex's cabin. The previous evening's events had weighed a lot on her mind and for once, she felt like talking with someone. She knew her mother's door was always open for her, but the younger asari didn't feel like talking with someone who was equally distraught over the situation as she was. Besides, Commander Williams had been refusing to come out from her room in order to change the bandages on her face, so this was a favor to Dr. Vang.

"Go away," Rex replied to the knock with a groan.

"You can't lock yourself away forever," Kota growled, "No one here cares that your face is all busted up, but you. Get over your looks and accept the fact you took an omniblade to the face." There was no reply, only silence. "Open up or I will break down this door myself!"

Suddenly, the door swished open, an angry looking human standing on the other side. Rex's face was heavily bandaged and a temporary eye-patch was over her empty eye socket. Once she had heard Kota's voice, the commander had quickly made her way to the door. Anyone else wouldn't have gotten her to open the door, but they had just gotten Kota back from Cerberus. However, Rex didn't want the asari to think that she was so anxious to talk to her, so she had to appear just as angry as she had with everyone else. "What?" she said bluntly.

Kota pushed her way passed the commander, grabbing the back of her collar to pull her along back to her bed. "Sit down," she said, forcing Rex down onto the bed.

"Christ, Kota," the human replied as she fell onto her bed before sitting up. She wasn't expecting the asari Spectre to be so rough with her, though in away, Rex enjoyed it.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself long enough for me to change your bandages," Kota said as she began removing the old, blood-stained gauze from Rex's face.

"Geez, what's your deal?" Rex winced slightly as the tape on her face pulled at some skin that was irritated and inflamed by her wound.

The asari opened a small can of medi-gel, rubbing her gloved fingers in the salve before dabbing the long cut on the soldier's face with it. She held the sewn-together eye lid closed over the empty socket as she started from the top. Dr. Vang hadn't any other method for keeping the slashed lid together than the old fashioned way. "You act like you're the only one who has father issues," Kota replied.

"Please, at least Shepard tried," Rex scowled, soon regretting it, "Mine never gave a damn."

"Did she? She's been here for a century knowing my mother had her child. Sounds about the same to me," Kota said as she was finished on the bottom of the opposite cheek.

"I thought asari were prepared and ok with the death of the parent that didn't have a longer lifespan, though that's irrelevant now."

"That's assuming all asari are alike. We're not," Kota responded as she began applying new bandages to the cut, "Looks like it's healing better than we expected. After these are ready to come off, we should probably just leave it alone. Oh, I thought I should inform you that Hawk has brought a large tree into the mess hall, wrapping it up in lights. I have no idea why, but she said it was human tradition. I think she's intoxicated." Kota discarded the old bandages and her gloves in a waste shoot in Rex's shower room. When she turned around, Rex was standing over her making her let out a startled gasp. _'Goddess, when did she become so light-footed?'_

"I'm glad you're back," Rex whispered. She had the other Spectre back up against the wall, her left hand planted firmly against the wall, above Kota's right shoulder.

The asari gulped hard. She felt a blush starting to form across her nose and cheeks, darting quickly to her left in an attempt to get away. However, she was caught with Rex's free arm around her waist. The human suddenly pulled Kota closer, their abdomens pressing together.

Rex gazed down into Kota's blue eyes as she moved her hand from the wall to a blue cheek. Her index finger traced over the red markings on the cheek as her thumb rubbed her chin. It was obvious to Rex that Kota had gotten the red patterns from the memories she had seen of Shepard. They resembled the glowing scars the hero had. "I know you watch me whenever I'm in the cargo bay," Rex said with a certain huskiness in her voice.

Kota had her hands on the sides of the human soldier's shoulders to brace herself. She attempted to turn her head away to avoid feeling the awkwardness of staring into Rex's one blue eye, but ever so gently, Rex pulled her head back to face her. Their faces were now so close she could feel the commander's breath. As her knees quivered slightly, Kota felt herself giving in, letting down all the walls she set up around her demeanor. She had always tried to be so tough, just like her dad, but whenever in Rex's presence, she felt those walls crumbling. This is why she had continuously pushed Rex away. These feelings made it awkward. They made her feel weak, but all at the same time, she enjoyed it. The scent of the human was something she couldn't push from her mind. It was either a body wash or cologne Rex used, but whatever it was, whenever she could smell it, she would make herself scarce in that part of the ship to avoid her knees giving way.

Rex smirked as the asari's eyes closed, even though it hurt her face to do so. Kota's breathing had become heavier. She knew she was having the effect she was hoping for on the other Spectre. She tilted her head down and to the side.

Kota had been fully prepared and terrified for Rex's lips on her own. On the inside, she was greatly disappointed when they never made connection. On the outside, she let out a sigh of relief as she felt the soldier's lips give her a gentle peck on the cheek. She opened her eyes to see Rex with a smirk still on her face as she let go of her prey, turning away. If she hadn't snapped out of her trance right then and there, Kota would have melted into the floor.

"You can leave now," the human said as she walked back to her bed. Turning around to sit down on her bed, Rex saw that Kota had already escaped her lair. She blinked, a bit surprised, blowing her breath into her palm to see if it smelled. When it didn't, she gave a shrug of her shoulders and proceeded to lie down.

* * *

Venz was entering the mess hall with a large green and red box with a golden bow on top. "The tree looks really nice, Kacie," he said as he set the box down next to the tree that had blinking lights of all colors wrapped around it. Ornaments of ever hue were scattered over its branches and it wore a flashing bright white star on top. Venz noticed the star was a little crooked and with his height, he easily reached up and straighten it up.

"Thanks," Kacie replied. She was currently sitting at the dining table trying to wrap a lot of presents while wearing a Santa hat. Wrapping paper and ribbons of many different colors were scattered all over the place.

Han was also sitting at the table across from Kacie. They had explained to him that it was Christmas time on Earth and this was a common tradition started by the Christian faith of humanity. There were many other traditions celebrated at this time of year too, such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. The turian was just confused as to the folklore of a big man in red riding around in a sleigh with reindeer, delivering presents to children. "So, what's with the socks on the wall?" he asked curiously.

"Those are for smaller presents that are harder to wrap and candy," Kacie replied, "But if you've been bad, you get coal."

"Yeah, these traditions sound like they were started by a drunken man," Han said.

Kacie just gave a shrug of her shoulder. "Maybe so, but they're our traditions."

Grant was just now entering the mess hall. "Oh wow! You guys put up a Christmas tree! Awesome!" Excited as a child, he walked over to look up at the tree. "Wait. How did you get it?"

"I may have stolen it from the Citadel when we dropped General Williams off," Kacie said as she rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous smile, "Heh." Everyone else suddenly facepalmed, shaking their heads.

"Yeah, you're definitely getting coal, Hawk," Han said before he got up to leave the room.

* * *

Liara was another one who hadn't left her room for some time now. She was lying in her bed with sheets wrapped around her body, her face down in her arms that were propped on her pillow. She had not slept in over twenty four hours and she had shed so many tears that she simply was not capable of anymore so she couldn't figure out why she could not sleep. Actually, she did know. It was Shepard. Liara didn't know what was worse, Shepard being dead and gone forever or Shepard being alive, but not being able to be with her. It pained her so much. The love of her life was right there, so close, yet so far away. She was happy that Shepard was alive, but mad at the former human at the same time. If she had not forced her to go back to the Normandy, she may have been able to join her. They could have jumped into the green beam of light together. However, she knew that if things had transpired in that manner, she would have killed their unborn child in the process. She knew she shouldn't have even ran into that battle and she knew Shepard still had anger towards her for it. She could feel it in the short meld they shared when Guardian had 'indoctrinated' them. If she had done all of what she briefly wished what would have happened, she would not have Kota right now. In all honesty, Liara was a bit surprised, yet relieved, that her lover had not scolded her for mapping her genes and creating their child in the heat of the moment. Liara thought of this a sort of punishment from the universe for pushing Shepard away up until their final moments. If this is what the human had felt like, Liara was eternally apologetic.

**Yay, I'm stuck in a blizzard and trying to find my way home again. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. The next chapters should push the story more along and have more action. Thanks for all your reviews, favorites, follows, and PMs! I enjoy talking to you guys! **


	22. Chapter 22

**2286**

**Chapter 22**

_Goosebumps ran up her bare arms as her body fell back, coming into harsh contact with the cold metal floor below her. After a few seconds that seemed like eternity, she lifted her left hand to her abdomen slowly to touch a hole in the fabric of her shirt. It was wet with a warm liquid seeping from her flesh. She couldn't lift her head to look at her hand because it felt like her entire torso was on fire. She turned her head to the right to see the asari on the floor only a few feet away from her, turned over on her stomach. The other woman's blue eyes were wide with a single tear falling down the bridge of her nose before it met the floor. She attempted to speak to the asari, but a sharp pain ran through her causing her to inhale, but only to be met with more pain that induced a cough. The taste of iron filled her mouth with a nauseating amount. Her peripheral vision began to dim, the blackness moving fast for her main vision. She reached out towards the woman's gloved hand, noticing that she too was bleeding badly. Her pulse beating loudly in her ears muffled the voices of the men talking near them. She tried with all her might to reach, but then she noticed two black boots step in between them. Her eyes ran up the legs, to his face, and to the barrel of the gun aimed at her head. He gave an evil smirk, and everything went dark._

* * *

Rex was sitting on the table in Niki's med bay. After a few days, her wound had completely scarred over. Now she could get her new eye, something she heard was incredibly painful, therefore, she was not looking forward to it. She would rather just wear an eye patch and look like a pirate. At least she would look like a badass then. Although, she was sure the scar coursing across her face would already do that. "This better not be one of those mood ring type of eyes," Rex pouted.

"Relax," Niki replied, "It's not, but you can change the iris color to your liking. Also, it will give you better accuracy with a gun." The doctor rolled over to her in her chair, holding the synthetic eye in one gloved hand, the other hand was holding some gauze. "You ready?"

The commander took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Let's just get it over with."

"Alright," Niki said as she rose to her feet, "I'm just gonna be honest. It will hurt." After receiving a nod from Rex, the doctor leaned forward and held her eyelid open.

Rex gripped the edge of the table as the eye popped into her socket, the back of the ball having tiny synthetic tentacle like wires that latched onto nerves and muscle. Even though the socket had been numbed beforehand, there was still a great deal of pain. She closed her eyes tightly and reeled back, bloody tears coming from her new eye. Niki quickly pulled her back to wipe away the blood. "Agh, dammit," Rex snarled, "That shit smarts."

"Ok, ok, open your eyes," Niki said, "We need to see if it works."

Rex blinked her eyes open and looked around. "Well, I can definitely see with it. Pretty clear."

"Ok, follow my finger," the doctor said as she moved her index finger from side to side, up and down, and towards Rex's nose. Then she shined a light into both eyes to see their reaction. After a few more tests she deduced that it was working properly. "Alright, looks like you're set. You want a sucker and a sticker?"

The commander returned with a blatant look. "Very funny, Dr. Vang," she said before hopping off the table and leaving.

* * *

She glanced down at the fitted wooden planks of flooring beneath her feet. It was a dark cold night with no moon in sight. People all just ahead of her were screaming and running with terror, both the rich in their top coats, hats, and dresses, and the poor in whatever they had been wearing to sleep that night. Kacie gripped onto the white railing, letting out a visible breath. _'If only I didn't have to disguise myself as a man.' _She reached down and tied a rope around her ankle and then to the white rail. The next thing she knew, an icy cold chill filled her lungs, followed by blackness.

Kacie suddenly shot up from her bed, panting with a cold sweat slick across her forehead. She was used to the nightmares, but she had wished they didn't come during her nap time. Sighing, she figured it was time to get up anyways and that it was just a sign that she had gotten enough of a nap. Hawk got up and pulled her blonde hair back with a small band.

After straightening up her clothes, she walked from her room and went down the hall to the rest room. She walked to the sink and pushed a button to run the cold water. Kacie placed her hands beneath the water before splashing some of it onto her face. With the water still running, Hawk placed her hands on the sides of the sink and lifted her head to look at herself in the mirror. Just to reassure herself she wasn't still in the dream, she had to see her snake bite piercings and the tiny tear drop tattoo below the corner of her right eye, and then of course the scar on her left cheek.

"If you're looking for any wrinkles or grays, I don't think you're going to find them for a very long time," said a familiar voice.

Kacie looked to the side of the mirror to see Niki in the doorway behind her. She gave the doctor one of her charming cocky smiles. "Yeah right, sweetheart," she replied, "I was just admiring my dashing looks."

The doctor smirked as she walked over to the former bounty hunter giving her a playful slap on the shoulder. "We're a bit over confident, aren't we?"

"Hah, I didn't say I was good looking as you, darling."

"And now we're sweet talking?"

"Well…it's either that or I lose my head to your mum."

Niki's jaw dropped at Kacie's answer. "Did she threaten you?" she asked with a scowl as she pulled Kacie by the shoulder to face her.

"I think it was more of a promise," Kacie answered as she lifted up her white shirt to reveal the remnants of a large bruise on her abs.

"Oh my god," the doctor gasped, "I'm so sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Hawk sighed as she straightened her shirt back down, "I need to tell you something."

* * *

The door to Liara's room had been opened all day since she had been in and out. There had not been any new leads coming through on her network about Cerberus and Miranda had not checked in with anyone on anything new, so the Shadow Broker had gotten bored. On top of that, she needed to get her mind off Shepard, so she would take a walk of the ship, have small talk with the others, and then return to her quarters to see if there were any updates. Currently, she was sitting at her desk, skimming through her network to see if there was anything new. A gentle knock on the wall outside came from her doorway. Liara turned in her chair to see her daughter standing there.

"Kota," she said softly, "Come in. Can I help you with anything?"

The younger asari walked in, hitting the console behind her to close the door. "I, um," she started hesitantly, "I wanted to talk with you about something."

"Of course. Is everything alright?" Liara asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Kota replied as she turned her head away with a slight blush, "After you met Dad…when did you start having feelings for her?"

The Shadow Broker smirked on the inside, already knowing where this was going. "Well, I was attracted to her the first moment I saw her," Liara said, "After I became part of her team to help her stop Saren, she began visiting my quarters quite often. Goddess, I said quite a few stupid things. Made a fool of myself, even; however, it never seemed to bother your father. It didn't take long before I felt like I could walk hand in hand with her into death itself. You could say I fell for her quite quickly."

"I see," Kota replied, seeming to be in deep thought.

"If you don't mind me asking, does this have to do with Commander Williams?"

Kota's blush spread further across her cheeks as she just gave a gentle nod.

Liara let out a small sigh and rose up from her seat to put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Look at me," she said. Kota turned her head back to face her mother. "I am telling you not only for your own good, but for Rex's as well," Liara said, "You are nearly the age I was when I fell in love with your father, which is quite young. I know from experience that you do not get to choose how you feel about someone. Things just happen. But you need to realize that she is an N7 Alliance soldier, and that she's attempting to walk in the footsteps of your father. That means, even with our expanded lives, her life is never promised. I know that no one's life is promised one day to the next, but she lives in the shadow of death every day. If you are going to pursue this, do not lead her on. I know she feels the same for you and it's not right if you…um humans say 'friend-zone' her. You should make every day you have with her count or be prepared for the guilt that comes when she is gone."

"Well, at least you're not telling me to jump her and rip her clothes off," Kota said with a sigh.

Liara quirked a brow with confusion and said, "Has your grandfather been trying to give you dating advice again?"

"Uh, gotta go, Mom," Kota said nervously before making her escape.

"I'm going to kill Aethyta."

* * *

Ivy hated days like this, just sitting around and waiting for the next move. She enjoyed the action and loud explosions of enemy ships. There was absolutely nothing to do so she was reduced to shifting her seat back and forth. She held her hands behind head, sighing. "Could it get any more boring?" She pushed a holographic button on her console and her sound system started up a steady smooth old school beat. She began bobbing her bed back and forth to the beat.

It wasn't long before Kacie was walking up the bridge towards the familiar tune. She entered the cockpit and dropped down into the seat to the right of Ivy. "Hey, I actually know this one," she said over the speakers.

"Of course, how could you be human and not know this song," Ivy replied.

They both began moving to the rhythm of music and they both sang, "Rollin' down the street smokin' endo! Sippin' on gin and juice!"

"Laid back," Kacie sang.

"With my mind on my money and my money on my mind," came from behind.

Both the blonde and redhead turned around to look over their shoulders at their visitor. Hawk let out a cackle when she saw it was Commander Williams.

Ironically, Rex was holding an open bottle of gin in her hand. She walked over clumsily and plopped down into the seat to the right of the pilot. "Great song," she slurred out.

"Uh, commander, are you drunk?" Ivy asked wide-eyed.

"I'm off duty and my eye feels like someone cut it out," Rex replied, "Oh wait…"

Kacie shifted her body forward to look across to Rex. "Pretty shitty of you not to share."

The commander just waved her off and said, "Go get your own. There's more in the lounge." She looked down at the console in front of her. "Care if I skim through your songs?" she asked Ivy.

The pilot just gave a shrug. "Go for it."

"There's a really old song I parodied the chorus to once. I wanna hear it," Rex said, spitting slightly, as she began searching through the massive catalog of songs, "Ah, here it is."

When the song began, Ivy instantly shook her head. "Oh god. This can't be good."

Williams began rocking back and forth in her seat as she sang sloppily, "I've hugged a couple Krogan. I kissed a couple humans. But nothing compares to these blue and aqua, purple girls. I've been to azure mountain. Once or twice, but who's countin'? But nothing compares to these blue and aqua, purple girls."

Hawk literally rolled out of her seat onto the floor in a fit of laughter. The pilot just smacked her palm against her forehead before sliding it down her face and looking towards the ceiling as if asking, "Dear God, why?"

"Ahem," someone coughed from behind. They all looked to see who it was. Rex instantly sank down into her seat as if to hide. It was Kota.

Ivy reached to one of her screens and cut the music off before she looked over to the commander, who held a finger to lips. "Really, commander? She knows you're here."

"Rex, if you're done expressing your love for the asari, can I speak with you?" Kota asked.

The commander let out an embarrassed groan and slowly got up from her seat, stumbling towards the asari. "Sure," she hiccupped, "What's up?"

"Goddess, you reek," Kota waved a hand across her nose, "How much have you drank?"

The woman held up the large bottle up to show her. There was now only about half of the liquid inside the clear glass left.

The asari closed her eyes, giving a disapproving shake of her head. "Can we go to your room?" she asked.

"Sure," Rex said, a whistle and howl coming from Kacie behind her. She looked over her shoulder, shooting the blonde daggers with her eyes before following Kota down the bridge towards the captain's cabin.

As the Kota and Rex made it to the CIC, they were greeted by Venz. "Hey, Rex," he said, "You've got an urgent message on your private terminal. It's from your brother."

"I'll take a look at it in my room," Rex replied, suddenly tripping over her own foot.

Kota spun and threw out a stasis field to catch the commander before she hit the floor face first. She rolled her eyes as Rex gave her a drunken smile. She reached forward and grabbed the bottle from the human to hand it over to Venz. "Please discard of this."

Venz blinked and took the half empty bottle of gin. "Sure, of course I will," he lied with a smile. He would discard of it, just not in the trash.

Once inside the captain's cabin, Rex plopped onto her bed and kicked her boots off. "So, what you wanna talk about?" she asked.

"What you were talking about the other day."

"Um, you will have to refresh my memory. I don't have much of one right now."

"Remember how you were saying you knew I watched you in the cargo bay?"

The commander gave a sly smirk and said, "Oh yeah. That. And?"

"Well, I…" The asari was suddenly lost of words as her cheeks took a light purple hue. She bit her lip and looked down as she nervously wringed her hands.

"Uh huh," Rex shook her head. She wasn't about to force it out of Kota. If they were ever going to have a chance of working out, she needed the asari to be able to express her feelings in some shape or form. The commander got up and walked to her private terminal on her desk and opened up the messages. "Kota, I like you, a lot. I'm usually lenient on a lot of things, except when it comes to my heart," she said as she opened the video message from her brother. The human made her way back to her bed and sat back down, facing Kota. "Either you-…OOMPH!"

Before the commander could get another word out, Kota had tackled her down onto the bed. Their lips had locked in a sudden instant, Rex's eyes wide for a moment before she realized that this felt nice, very nice. Maybe Aethyta's advice wasn't such a bad thing, aside from the tearing of apparel, which didn't happen. The commander shut her eyes slowly, returning the kiss that was rough at first, but toned down to being sweet, soft, and gentle. Rex reached around Kota's waist and suddenly spun over on top, receiving a soft squeal from the asari, their lips still connected. A blue hand came up to gently stroke the side of the human's face from her temple to her jaw line. Kota's other hand ran up the back of Rex's head, running her fingers through the thick locks of messy hair. A shiver went down Rex's spine.

"Commander Alex Williams," came from the speakers on Rex's private terminal, "If you're receiving this, we, Cerberus, have captured your brother, Professor Kaiden Williams."

The commander suddenly jerked up away from Kota's blissful blue lips, her face scrunched up into an angry scowl towards her terminal. The asari below her let go of the commander with a gasp, rolling over so that she could also view the terminal. Rex walked over to her desk, suddenly sober. The video was showing her brother strapped down to a metal chair with a device over his mouth to keep him from speaking.

"If you want to see him alive again, you will come to the coordinates. Alone. No crew. You may arm yourself, but it will do you no good if you should try to fire on us. If you bring anyone else with you, we will execute him." The file suddenly deleted itself, leaving only the coordinates of where she was to meet them.

Rex suddenly burst into the cockpit shouting, "IVY! CITADEL! NOW!"


	23. Chapter 23

**2286**

**Chapter 23**

The Normandy was racing towards the Citadel as fast as it could. Rex, sitting on the edge of her bed, pinched the bridge of her nose as a mild headache began to set in from her alcohol consumption. The sound of familiar steps came through her cabin doors as they swished open. The commander glanced up towards the asari.

"You aren't seriously considering going alone are you?" Kota asked.

"I don't have much of a choice," the human muttered back, "I know who we're dealing with, and I know I could very well be walking into a trap. They could kill us both, but I would rather die knowing that I tried."

Kota made her way to Rex's side, sitting next to her. "I…I'm not good with these kind of things…speaking my feelings. But now I wish I had been more straightforward with you. If you want to pretend that everything that just happened between us never happened at all…I am ok with that."

The commander placed her hand on Kota's shoulder, shaking her head. "No, I don't. I have feelings for you. I don't know why. Honestly, the way we butt heads, I should highly dislike you by now, but I don't. Any other person, I would have kicked off the ship. I can't explain it, but you make me see things from a different perspective. We both have different vantage points and I think that makes us a great team."

"So you think of us as a special operations squadron?" Kota asked.

Rex shook her head once more, chuckling softly. "No, that's just kind of a metaphor of how I feel about you. I don't know exactly what my feelings are, but I know that I don't want to forget what happened between us. I want to know you better. I have always wanted to know you better, but you haven't exactly let me in. And I get it. Some part of you feels so insecure that your subconscious automatically pushes away those you start to gravitate towards."

"When did you get a degree in psychology, Commander Williams?" Kota said with a smirk.

"Actually, I did take a little bit, not much. I figured that knowing a little would help out in being a leader," Rex replied, "But anyways. What I'm saying is…you don't have to open up to me completely right away, but don't push me out completely. If you don't see us becoming anything more, then at least we can be friends. If I do come back from this mission, I wouldn't mind it if you were there waiting for me."

The asari leaned towards the woman and pecked her cheek, receiving a smile. "Then I will be waiting for you, even though I wish I could stop you from doing this," she replied as she placed a blue hand over Rex's slightly tanned one. "I do have one request before you race off into the darkness, if you don't mind?"

Rex glanced down at the hand, turning her own over to hold Kota's before looking back into her blue eyes. "Oh? What's that?"

"Will you meld with me? Finish what we started earlier?" A faint flush of purple crept onto the asari's blue cheeks as her eyes nervously darted away from the commander's.

The commander could feel Kota's heart racing through the pulse in her hand. She placed a finger beneath her blue chin and made her look back towards her. Rex gave a warm smile to her counterpart before closing the gap between their lips, giving the answer to Kota's question. The asari returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around Rex's strong neck as she laid back, pulling the soldier down on top of her. Kota quickly pushed both of her boots off using her feet. Rex was already barefoot. Rex hooked her arms around Kota's back, pushing them both further up the bed causing ripples in the sheets. Suddenly, Kota broke the kiss and wrapped one leg around the human's waist before pushing her opposing hip into the commander, forcing her to turn over in one quick abrupt motion.

Now being on top and straddling the commander, Kota gave her a devious smile. Rex shot the same look back at her before they found themselves lip locked again, but not for long. The commander began kissing down Kota's jaw line, making her way to her aqua neck. She gently nibbled the textured, yet soft flesh causing a soft moan to escape the asari's lips. Concentration seemed to be fading from Kota's mind due to Rex's soft bites, but she still managed to run her hands down the human's sides to the brim of her shirt. Both hands slipped underneath the fabric before her nails gently grazed the skin covering Rex's lower abdominal muscles causing them to suddenly twitch and jerk. It suddenly became a battle as the commander abruptly slung herself back on top. Kota gasped and ran her hands around from Rex's abs to her back as her legs wrapped around her waist. The grazing of Kota's finger nails down her back left Rex with a tingling sensation. Kota noticed that she felt faint lines of scars across Rex's back, some running parallel with each other, some crisscrossing. Kota wondered where they might have come from since she knew that Rex wasn't the one to ever run from a fight. Perhaps she would ask her later. Rex stopped her attack on the blue neck and sat up on her knees, crossing her arms at her waist to pull her shirt off in one swift motion, tossing it to the floor by the bed.

Before long, they had both delicately stripped each other of all their clothing. The both of them were now sitting up, Kota sitting in Rex's lap, facing her with her legs still around her waist. Kota let out a sigh of pleasure and tilted her head to the side with her eyes closed while Rex planted soft kisses down her neck and shoulder. She gasped when Rex kissed in between her breasts, arching her back as she pressed herself into the human. Blue fingers ran through dark brown hair as the asari clutched the woman's head closer. Kota's biotics began flaring up, but when Rex gently bit the side of her breast, she sent a pulse out while whispering, "Embrace eternity." The racing beats of their hearts became in perfect sync with each other as 'we' became 'I'.

Kota thought it was odd that Rex had up more barriers within her consciousness than she even did, but she was wary to hide the curiosity of her discovery. She knew that even the strongest people and those that seemed the most happy had their secrets and troubles of their own. She knew not to pry and that if she gave it time, Rex would probably let down the walls with her. She figured that since this was their first experience with one another, they would just begin understanding basic things about each other; like how Rex highly disliked onions and why, and how Kota got nauseated by the smell of bacon. The human showed a fake jokingly feeling of being appalled because she thought bacon was the greatest thing in the galaxy, but she knew that not everyone did. These sharing of the very basics would serve as icebreakers to slowly move forward to deeper memories if they shared future melds. They just wanted to get to know each other's likes and dislikes right now.

After some time that only seemed like a few seconds to Rex, the meld had ended. Both she and Kota were covered in a thin dew of perspiration, both breathing heavily as they shared a slow passionate kiss. The asari reached forward and ran a hand through the dark messier than normal hair. Rex pulled her into a protective embrace, kissing her forehead before letting her eyes slide shut. Kota's body relaxed after she cuddled herself into the soldier's bare body. They both slipped into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

"I can't believe you!" Dr. Vang shouted as she marched down the corridor of the Normandy's squad cabins, her lab coat flowing behind her. Kacie had just told her about how she had been working with Cerberus, but planning to double cross them.

"I swear I wasn't setting anyone up!" Kacie retorted as she quickly followed the doctor. She quickened her pace and caught up to Niki, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

Vang indeed came to a stop, but she spun around, slapping the hand away before pointing a finger in Kacie's face, her face scrunched up in a snarl. "You expect me to believe that?! I bet you've set my mother up for sabotage! How did they get Rex's brother so easily? I bet you're a part of that, too!"

The bounty hunter sighed and hung her head. "I shouldn't have lied to you, but if I had told you in the first place, you would have blown my cover too early."

"That's your excuse! You haven't change at all Kacie Hawk, have you? You're still the same asshole who tried to kill me years back," she spat out, her eyes narrowed.

"No! I'm not, damnit!" Hawk took a step towards the doctor, attempting to grab her shoulders again in a pleading fashion.

"Get out of my face. I never want to see you again," Niki said as she held her hands up.

Kacie let out a sigh before giving a sad nod.

* * *

Commander Williams was pacing back and forth nervously in front of the transport hub of the Citadel. It was agitating her badly about how long it was taking for her transport to Omega to arrive. From there she would rent a shuttle to get to Lisir in Singurd's Cradle. The planet was quite unremarkable and lifeless. It would be the perfect place for Cerberus to set up shop. Rex had not the slightest clue of what she would do when she got there, but she didn't care right now. At the moment, she couldn't think. She was too worried about her brother.

Kota was there with her, sitting on a nearby bench, leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. She was incredibly worried about what the human was going to do. Every thought imaginable was running through her head. She had tried to talk Rex out of this, but it was impossible. The commander was just as hardheaded as she was.

Ashley Williams came marching down towards the docking area of the hub, walking briskly towards her daughter, a scowl upon her face. "Are you insane?" she asked, "You're just going to walk in there by yourself?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" Rex replied, "If others go in along with me or the authorities go to find him, Cerberus will kill him."

"Don't forget you're both my children!" Ash shouted, "You don't think I'm worried? You're about to walk right into a trap!"

The commander took a step towards her, pointing a finger, "Maybe so, but I have to do something! It's not him they want! It's me! I pissed them off, so they want my head! If that's the case, then so be it! I'll figure something out. You guys just need to stay here and be on standby in case of a worst case scenario."

"You can't be serious!" Kota interrupted, "You don't even have a plan and you're talking about a worst case scenario already? I know I've tried to plead with you before, but please, Rex, don't do this."

"They're right, you can't do this," Admiral Vega said seriously as he walked up, also having heard of the news, "And that's an order. I am ordering you to report back to the Normandy immediately, Commander Williams." James had that strict officer tone in his voice.

Rex remained silent for a moment, looking away from the three of them and towards the ground. She gritted her teeth, so angry. No, she couldn't just abandon her brother. It took a great deal of effort, every fiber of her being, to do what she did next.

"The transport to Omega will be leaving in five minutes," said the intercoms.

Alex "Rex" Williams reached around behind her neck and tilted her head forward with closed eyes as she pulled the metal beads of her dog tags over her scalp. "Then I don't take orders from you anymore, sir," she said as she threw the tags at Vega's bulky chest.

"Rex!" he shouted with a surprised face, catching the tags before they hit the ground, "You'll be branded a deserter!"

"I don't care! Family comes first!" Rex shouted back before diverting her eyes to her mother, "You should know that more than anything." The now former commander pivoted on her tips of her toes to run towards her transport.

"No! You can't do this," Ashley yelled out as she ran after her daughter, grabbing her arm, looking up to her with near tears in her eyes, "You'll die!"

"I have to!" Rex jerked her arm away and pushed Ash away before entering the transport. She found a seat next to a window and looked towards Kota, whose hands were over her face. Rex frowned and turned her gaze away before closing her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered under her breath.

* * *

Everyone had been vacated from the Normandy SR-3 by the Council and the Alliance due to the sudden absence of its commanding officer. This came much to Ivy's dismay. The ship was like an extension of her very being. Now she was propped up in some fancy hotel on the Citadel. "I don't know, Dad, but they just took my ship," she griped to her omnitool, "This is bullshit. Just because Rex went AWOL doesn't mean they should take my ship from me."

"Wow, that strangely makes me feel nostalgic," Joker replied with a smirk, "Too bad you don't have a hot AI to bust it out."

"Ew, I don't need to hear about things like this, but seriously, if I knew it wouldn't fry my brain, I'd try to connect to it from a remote console and break it free myself."

"Yeah, that's not such a good idea. Well, maybe they'll replace your CO and you'll be back in it."

"Honestly, not to sound like a flip flop, but if they replace Rex I'm not getting back in it," Ivy replied as she laid back on her bed.

"That's why I don't fly anymore. It's not the same without Shepard," he said back, "Still hard to believe she's…a Reaper…doesn't make sense."

"A lot of things don't make sense," Ivy said, "I don't know how much I believe that Guardian is really Shepard though. It just doesn't seem realistic to me."

"I probably wouldn't be willing to believe it if it wasn't for the fact that your mother just used to be a computer program," Joker said. He received a glare from the across the room. He gave an innocent look as if he didn't know why his wife was giving him the stink eye. "What? I'm just saying."


	24. Chapter 24

**2286**

**Chapter 24**

She took in a deep breath as she opened up the hatch of her shuttle and stepped out onto the planet's surface. Rex had landed in front of the Cerberus facility on Lisir. Guards were standing outside the entrance to the building, no doubt awaiting her arrival. Every step she took seemed to be in slow motion, her body moving with such a rhythm as she trotted towards them, her eyes narrowed beneath her visor. Her shoulder plates glinted the reflection of the main star above. Two soldiers lowered their rifles in front of her, blocking Rex's way. A woman stepped forward, the soldiers lifted up their weapons to allow their boss access. She held her hands behind her back and spoke, Shepard's voice, "You will relinquish all your weapons before entering. If you fire upon us now or conceal a weapon and try to draw it while inside the facility, you and your kin will be terminated."

Rex reached down and clicked a button on her waist belt, all the weapons on her back and waist releasing from their magnets and dropping to the ground. "There." There was cold steel in the taller woman's voice.

"Omnitool," the clone ordered as she held her hand out.

The former Alliance soldier sighed and pushed a button on her arm, a small chip ejecting from her armor plating. She dropped it in the clone's hand. The clone smirked beneath her helmet and moved her hand, letting the chip fall to the ground before she crushed it under her boot. Rex gritted her teeth and felt an inaudible growl in her throat. "Are you done?"

The clone gave a nod and turned her back towards Rex to enter the structure. Rex figured it was another underground facility like the one she and Niki helped save Miranda from. She would never know for sure, though. After coming out of the chamber that equalized their pressure, Williams regrettably removed her helmet. She should have known not to do something so stupid when she saw no one else do the same. Almost as if expecting Rex to let her guard down, a paralyzing gas shot from the walls. The fumes attacked her nose and lungs, burning at first. Angrily, she lunged towards the clone who only slammed a fist into her abdomen. Rex hit the floor, knowing that this was probably her end, and what hurt worse than the punch or the gas was that she would never know what would happen to her brother. Overwhelming regret and guilt washed over her as everything turned black.

She gasped, flickering her eyes open, the irises glowing green for a brief moment as she tried to get her bearings. Her body felt slightly lighter, her armor had been stripped from her being, replaced by a white shirt and navy blue pants. Everything around her was white, not a speck of dirt to be found anywhere. She knew she was upright, but didn't know how. Rex tried to pull her arms down to her sides, but they were restrained above her head. Her heart began racing, a memory from N-School suddenly flashing through her mind.

_Her arms were suspended above her head, her feet on the ground. She was in nothing but a sports bra and her uniform slacks. Her commanding officer walked to the front of her, placing a stick wrapped in leather before her lips. "Bite down on this," he said, "Trust me, it helps."_

_Rex glanced at him and gave a slight nod before taking the stick between her teeth like a dog playing fetch. Everyone was in lines around her, friends and brothers in arms, standing at attention. Her CO turned and walked around behind and to the side of her, giving his boss a nod._

"_For incompetence in command," Rear Admiral Taylor started, "For failure to abide by safety regulations during a live fire exercise, for negligence that contributed in the death of a teammate, recruit trainee Alex Williams is sentenced to administrative punishment. Ten lashes. You may carry out the sentence."_

Rex winced as she remembered how the whip tore through the flesh on her back, leaving foot long slashes. She pushed the memory from her head and glanced around the room. It did not look like there were any entrances or exits to her room. It looked completely seal off. She grabbed the chains to her restraints and attempted to pull herself up, but it was no use. She felt her feet restrained as well.

"You goddamn sons of bitches!" she roared out as she violently shook and pulled her arms. Rex let out an exasperated sigh and held her head down in defeat. Then, the wall directly in front of her slid upward, a hidden door. She lifted her head to see who was there.

"You really think we would lead you directly to your brother?" said the woman walking forward. It was the same clone from before, except now her helmet was gone. This one seemed to have a personality of her own, unlike the other clones besides Kacie.

"Where is he?" Rex demanded.

"We might give him to you," she said, "But you have to give us something first."

"What do I have that you would want?"

The clone suddenly punched Rex's already bruised abs. "Speak when spoken to, prisoner," she spat out, "Where is the relay? Where is Guardian?"

The air rushed from Rex's lungs and she coughed and gasped for air, her face in a half scowl and wince. "Ergh! I don't know. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"Ok, let's try this again," the clone said before slamming her fist into Rex's cheek, "Tell us or your brother will die. We aren't going to give you the mercy of death, but we sure can make everyone you love and care about think you are dead. And then, we go after them. Do you understand? So, where is the relay?"

Blood was dripping from the side of Rex's lip since her teeth tore through the gums on the side of her mouth. "I told you. I don't know," she said before spitting blood in the clone's face.

The Shepard clone didn't even flinch with the crimson spit hit her face. She only gave an arrogant smirk. "That was a mistake you will pay for," she whispered wickedly before producing a rod from her utility belt. She pressed a button and it lit up with electricity.

Down the hallway from the prisoner's room, a Cerberus troop winced beneath his helmet as the screams and cries of a tortured Alliance soldier echoed through the corridors. Even his stomach began to turn, but he knew not to falter, still standing tall. Soon, the cries ceased and the thump of a body hitting the floor came before his boss came waltzing from the room. He didn't move an inch.

"Plan B," she said, "We are moving to home base. Agent Brent will take care of her."

Back in the cell, Rex lay motionless on the white light lit floor. She was still alive, still conscious, which she thought was unfortunate. She had not shed a single tear, though. Rex knew it wasn't worth it, no matter how much pain she was in. The corner of her mouth pulled up in the slightest of smiles as the soothing comfort of unconsciousness took over her mind.

* * *

Cards fell from a feminine hand and onto a green felt surface. Cigarette smoke swirled and drifted in the air. The beat of bass vibrated and shuddered through all surfaces. Another hand slammed down a beer onto the poker table. Ivy let out a defeated groan. "Yeah, I suck at this game," she said before sipping on her beer and then grabbing her cig from the ash tray, taking a drag, "Man, this is bullshit. All this sitting around and waiting is eating at me."

"You and me both," Venz said, throwing his cards down, a bad hand. He slumped back into his seat, waiting for the others.

"This doesn't feel right," Grant said, also revealing a losing hand, "We're sitting in Purgatory playing cards and drinking while the Commander saves the world by herself." He was wearing a jacket with the hood over his head, attempting to hide the fact that he was a husk. Whenever Rex was around, he had no problem revealing himself, but by himself or even with the other crew members, he didn't feel safe.

"She's not our Commander anymore, Huskins," Venz replied, "She deserted the Alliance."

A Turian hand suddenly slammed into the table hard enough to make all the drinks and chips on its surface take a suddenly leap. He growled towards Venz, "I don't care who she deserted, Rex will always be my Commanding Officer."

"I'm with Han," Grant said, nodding.

The Russian let out a sigh and said, "I did not mean it in an insulting manner. I was merely telling him how the Alliance would view it. I support her all the way. I understand why she did what she did."

"Ok, guys," Ivy interjected, "You're all letting your testosterone get the best of you. Han, what do your cards say?"

"Oh," Han said, suddenly remembering what they were doing. He proudly laid down his cards, boasting his pointy chest high. He had a full house. Everyone else groaned and pouted as he wrapped his arms around the chips and pulled them towards his side of the table.

Kacie was sitting at the bar with a bottle in hand, taking gulps. She was of course drowning her sorrows in alcohol. She glanced up at the vid screen, a breaking news report was airing. There was a screen cap of Rex and Cerberus' insignia. "Hey man," she said to the bartender, "Can you turn that up?" The turian barkeeper obliged, hitting his omnitool to up the volume parameters on the vid screen.

"This just in, it appears that the human-centric terrorist organization known as Cerberus has captured and executed former Alliance Commander Alex Williams," the reporter said. Kacie's eyes went wide. If this had happened to Rex, she wondered how Lawson was holding out. No one had heard from her in a while.

A drunken batarian good stumbled up and sat next to Kacie with his own bottle of alcohol. He grumbled and said to the Turian, "Hey man, turn this shit off! No one cares about human problems!"

The blonde woman turned to him and scowled with her green eyes. "Hey, I was watching that," she snarled.

The batarian leaned towards her and spat back, "I guess you aren't anymore, are ya bitch?"

Kacie just turned, appearing to accept his attitude, nodding her head. Suddenly, she grabbed the neck of the alien's beer bottle and broke the base across his face. He fell backwards out of his seat, crashing into the floor. She looked back at the bartender and tossed the rest of the bottle over her shoulder. "Could you turn it back up?"

"Now, while these statements cannot be verified at the moment, sources say that a video containing the evidence of such actions has in fact been received by the Citadel Council," the reported on the screen continued, "We will be keep you up to date with this story as more information becomes available."

"Holy shit," Kacie gasped before jumping up from her seat and rushing upstairs towards the louder part of the bar. She ran up to the poker table where most of the others were, slamming her hands down on it.

"Hey man," Han said, "We're trying to play a game here."

"Cerberus claims to have killed Rex," she snapped. Everyone dropped their cards and drinks and fell silent.

"Impossible," Ivy broke their group silence, "Rex wouldn't just let them kill her."

"That's why I said claims," Kacie replied, "I think they're bullshitting. They want the Alliance to retaliate, cause a war. However, if they are making such claims, that means she is probably captured."

"We have to go after her," Huskins shouted.

"We don't have a ship," Venz retorted.

"Well, we can't sit and do nothing," Han replied, sitting back into his seat, crossing his arms, "If only you had a main core in the Normandy like your mother did, Ivy."

The redheaded pilot sat there for a moment, not saying anything. She was thinking something over, having a revelation. Her green eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh my god," she exclaimed, "That's it!" Ivy suddenly leapt up from her seat. "Kacie, you're coming with me. I have an idea," she said, grabbing the bounty hunter's arm, "You guys go find Kota and the other two and just be ready for anything. We will be back in a few days. Make sure Kota doesn't do anything rash."

Hawk blinked, looking confused, "Where we going?"

"You'll see."

* * *

The young asari Spectre was leaning on the railing in the courtyard of the Prisidium Commons. Kota was lost in the beautiful view the Commons provided for her. She was trying to get her mind off the worry for the commander. She was astonished that Rex would give up her position in the Alliance to go save her brother. Ashley had taken it hard. No one had heard from the general since Rex departed the Citadel. Vega had gone down to Earth to reason with the rest of Alliance brass. The Council of course did not have a problem with Rex's actions since they were separate from the Alliance. Her actions gave them no indication that they should revoke her Spectre status. They saw it as Rex just reaching for an opportunity to strike down Cerberus. Kota was angry with them. She figured that if the Council had intervened, something could have been done to stop the human.

Kota felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked over it to see her mother there. Liara moved forward and leaned against the railing, facing her daughter. "How are you?" Dr. T'soni asked, "You've been quiet lately."

"Just worried," Kota replied.

Liara let out a breath, looking down towards the ground. She wasn't smiling, a solemn look upon her face. "I need to tell you something," she said.

If she didn't look scared already, Kota showed it now. "What? What is it?"

"You cannot by any means react irrationally. Do you understand?" Liara said. Her daughter gave a hesitant nod. "Cerberus sent a video to the Alliance News Network and to my network showing that they've…executed Rex."

Her legs felt suddenly weak, her lungs stopped breathing, her body went numb.

"We don't know if it's true though."

Her knees buckled beneath her weight. Before she lost consciousness, Kota felt arms wrap around her upper body and her mother shouting her name.

* * *

_"I'm always coming back."_


	25. Chapter 25

**2286**

**Chapter 25**

Two days had passed and there was still no word back from Ivy. She hadn't said what exactly she was up to, but it looked like she may have had a way to steal the Normandy back. Liara had confirmed that the ship's pilot and the bounty hunter had left the system, so there was no telling what she was planning. It took the entire team to hold Kota back once she woken up from the shock. She attempted to leave off the Citadel and throw herself into the fire as well. Luckily, that's when Miranda reported into them.

"_She's still alive."_

Those had been Lawson's words. It was a good thing that the Illusive Man had placed Miranda in the same cell as Damian. Any other cell, and she wouldn't have been able to report such findings. However, everyone would still have to appear to be distraught over the discovery of the former commander's death. Cerberus could be lurking around any corner. Everything had to be believable. Unfortunately, Miranda had not yet been able to find out exactly where the organization had taken Rex. She believed it was Cerberus' main base, but even she could not locate it. The Illusive Man still hadn't regained that amount of trust for his once right hand woman.

Upon hearing this new update, they decided to hold a private, closed door, high security meeting with the Council. It was imperative that Cerberus not know that word had gotten out that Rex was alive. Such information could get both she and Miranda killed.

"There has to be something you can do," Liara pleaded with them.

"An attack out in the Terminus systems will cause a war," Tevos said, "Everyone has known this for ages."

"So we just let one, maybe two, of our Spectres die?" Sparatus asked. It was shocking, but he was all in favor of sending fleets against Cerberus, Council Space or not. He was getting tired of hearing their name every time he turned around.

"No," Kota said, sounding annoyed, "You don't have to send in fleets. Goddess, just give us the Normandy back."

Nixon shook his head. "The Normandy is half Council, half Alliance. If she doesn't have an Alliance commanding officer, she is docked," he said.

"Then find another officer, damnit!" Kota was becoming agitated, "You have an Alliance soldier held hostage out there! If she dies, her blood is on your hands, you idiot!" Liara pulled Kota back by her arm.

"This is ridiculous," Han groaned, "Nothing gets done in time because you morons are always squabbling over stupid things!"

Bakara glanced down the line of her fellow Councilors, narrowing her red eyes. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

"The Normandy is an advanced warship," Nixon snarled back, "It's not like we can just pull another Commander Shepard out of our asses to command it! Rex was the next best thing we had to Shepard! This is going to take time!"

At that time, a C-Sec officer who was standing guard outside, stepped through the door, it closed behind him. "Councilors," he said, "The Normandy's pilot has arrived for the meeting. She has an unidentified person with her, but she assures the subject is no harm to anyone. The subject checks out for no weapons nor any known omnitool encryptions of the Cerberus type. She says that the subject could be of great use to the said mission."

The councilors all shared a curious glance or two with each other before giving a hesitant nod. "Let them in," Valern said. The C-Sec officer nodded and stepped back out, allowing the two humans to walk in.

Ivy waltzed in looking all accomplished, a hooded figure standing next to her. It was human, it was female. The hood was pulled so far forward, no one could see her face. She held her head down as well. Kota and Liara glanced at each other and then to Ivy and the newcomer. Liara knew it wasn't Kasumi. Kasumi held herself in a different manner, and the thief would not have put herself within twenty feet of the Council uncloaked.

"So, what did we miss?" Ivy asked casually as if she weren't even acknowledging her new friend.

"They won't release the Normandy until we have a new commander," Han replied, sounding irritated.

"Oh! Well, I've solved your problem then," the redhead said with a big grin before turning to the hooded woman.

The woman lifted her hands to the hood to pull it back while saying, "I can command the ship." Everyone in the room, including the Council, let out a startled gasp before going completely silent. Kota broke the silence when she produced her pistol, aiming it at Shepard's head.

"Ivy!" Kota growled, "What are you doing bringing a clone here?!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" Ivy tried to pull the gun away to no avail, "It's not a clone! Well, it is, but it isn't!"

Shepard didn't flinch, staring coldly at her daughter. "Go ahead," she said, "Pull the trigger."

"Kill her! Before Cerberus finds out we know!" Nixon shouted. He waved his guards to take down what he thought was a clone.

"Oh Christ," the redhead groaned, "It's really Shepard!"

Only a few guards moved in quickly to set up aim at Shepard. The others who disobeyed orders couldn't bear to fire upon the Savior of the Galaxy. Liara quickly waved her arm, pulling up a biotic barrier over Shepard. She didn't know what to believe, but if it was indeed Shepard, she couldn't allow C-Sec to eliminate her. "Kota, we don't know if it's not her," she pleaded.

The guards who did follow orders pulled their triggers. Nothing but clicks could be heard. No gunshots. Clicks. The officers looked down at their weapons, confused as to why they were not firing. Kota dropped her arm and aimed for the floor, pulling the trigger. Nothing.

Shepard stepped forward and put a hand on Kota's shoulder. "It's really me," she said before looking over to Liara, giving her nod.

The older asari moved toward Shepard and her eyes went black as she initiated a short meld to confirm that it was indeed the Savior. Liara took a step back after the meld, not knowing what to think. Suddenly, she clung to Shepard, hugging her tightly. Tears streamed down her face once again. The barrier around them fell. Liara knew that Shepard was controlling every weapon in the room. No harm would come to them.

'_Finally.' _

Shepard's arms wrapped around the mother of her child to hug back. She planted a small kiss on the asari's forehead. "I'm came back."

"How?"

* * *

_**A day earlier…**_

Joker was following EDI and Ivy as they pushed a heavy tank towards the giant sky scraping Reaper that called itself Guardian. "You two know you are crazy, right?" he argued, "This…this thing probably isn't even Shepard."

"Dad, it is Shepard," Ivy replied, "I don't know how, I don't know why, but Liara, Vega, and hell, even Ashley were convinced it was her. Not to mention Kota, the daughter who never met her, believed it is really Shepard." Ivy had gotten Kacie to give her coordinates of a Cerberus cloning facility with low security. They had managed to infiltrate the place and sneak out with a clone without a scratch on them by posing as Cerberus guards who need a fresh clone for the Illusive Man. Cerberus could be so stupid.

Jeff pinched the bridge of his nose before looking up at the Reaper. Its giant red eye looked back at him. He noticed that the massive death machine did have a different hue that the others, though, he still couldn't wrap his head around it.

"You might not have glass bones anymore, Joker," Guardian said, "But don't forget healthy bones can break, too." He gave a surprised look, cocking an eyebrow. "That's a joke," the Reaper replied.

"Yeah, that's Shepard."

"Jeff, would you make yourself useful?" EDI asked as she and her daughter struggled to roll the tank forward. Joker moved forward and tried to help them push it closer to the Reaper, grunting all the way. "Perhaps you should visit the gym more often," his wife nagged. Joker made faces to Ivy, mocking EDI.

After having finally getting the tank close enough, EDI walked around to the front of it, opening up a console. "So, are you sure this will work, EDI?" Guardian asked.

"No," EDI replied, "After my…programming became my mind, brain, whatever, certain things can be more difficult and/or impossible to calculate. However, I can connect with you and walk you through this. I must warn you, Shepard, it could be painful."

"Thanks, Commander. You made my girl dumber," the ex-pilot joked. A partially metallic hand slammed into his upper arm. "Ow! I was just kidding!"

Guardian let out a strange Reaper like snicker. Shepard thought EDI had become a bit more emotional. She liked this side of the former AI. She was…alive. "Ok, EDI. I'm ready. It's now or nothing," Guardian said as mechanical tentacles ejected from the Reaper, connecting to the tank.

Ivy, with a towel over her shoulder, took a step back with her father. This clone was only wearing basic undergarments. It was one of the newly grown ones and probably didn't even have any memories imprinted within her brain. She wanted to be prepared to dry Shepard off and warm her up if she needed it. EDI and Guardian both connected with the tank and began the transferring process. EDI was attempting to help Shepard transfer her consciousness into the clone's body, much like she had done with herself and the Normandy. In theory, with everyone being partially synthetic, it should work. They would soon find out if Shepard could really be brought back to life in human form.

It took about a half hour before the process was finally complete. The Reaper's tentacles disconnected and EDI backed away from the console after hitting a button to release the body from the tank. The fluids drained out from the container and the glass door flipped open. Shepard fell from the tank to her knees, much like how Grunt did when she had released him. She coughed and vomited up the fluid that was in her throat and lungs. Ivy rushed over with the towel draping it over Shepard's back.

"It's done," EDI said, "However, it seems as though you cannot be completely disconnected from the Reaper in the same way how I could not become completely disconnected from the Normandy before the Crucible was fired."

Shepard gained her balance and held the towel around her body. "So, where ever I go, Guardian goes," she said. EDI just gave her a nod. "Ok, I guess I can deal with that. Thank you, EDI."

* * *

_**The Present…**_

This time the room was dark. Her hands were above her head once again. All the lights suddenly lit up, the sudden brightness hurting her eyes. Rex felt a haze in her head, drugs apparently, and her stomach was turning, her throat felt dry. Boots clunked against the floor as Damian Brent, her father, entered the room. She didn't have enough strength to hold her head up. His voice made her head throb.

"Everyone thinks you're dead kid," Damian spoke, "Mommy dearest must be so proud."

Rex attempted to form words, but only a pained groan seeped from her lips.

Brent let out a sick chuckle, the sides of his lips turning up in an arrogant grin. "Hehe, wouldn't it be so great if they tried to come for your corpse? Even if they did find this place, we are armed with Reaper weapons. Everyone would be completely wiped out."

"Bastard," she managed to stutter out.

"Aw," he said sarcastically, "Are you upset that Cerberus is finally about to ascend to be the higher judgment of this world?" He suddenly landed a fist into Rex's side. She yelped out in pain, feeling her already bruised ribs beginning to crack. "Should have given us what we wanted," he said, "Now, not even Commander Shepard could save you." Damian laughed as he exited the room.

* * *

Liara was in the middle of walking Shepard around the SR-3, the two of them hand in hand. "Are you listening to anything I am saying, Shepard?" she asked.

The Commander blinked and snapped out of a sort of trance, "Um, I'm sorry, what?" She had been staring at the asari's every movement, her eyes, her lips. All sounds had been muffled by her mind.

"Shepard," Liara said with a sigh, "This is all too soon for you. You just miraculously came back…and here you are about to throw yourself into the flames again."

"No, no," the human pressed her palm to Liara's cheek, the asari laying her hand over Shepard's, "I'm sorry. I, um, was just admiring you. It _has _been a century since I got to."

A faint smirk crossed Liara's face along with a blush. "There will be plenty of time for that later," she said. She didn't want to say it because she didn't want to sound like she had before the war ended. "So, how are we going to save the world this time, Commander?"

"Commander is it?" Shepard asked with a grin, "Well…the same way we always save it. We're going to need to find out where their home base is first. That's what Miranda is for. Then we save Rex and hopefully end Cerberus for good this time. The problem with that is…the way the Illusive Man brought himself back…"

"What about it?"

"If he managed to do that once, who's to say he doesn't have more clones of himself waiting around to resurrect himself again?"

"Apparently Kacie already thought about that," Liara replied, "After she and Ivy got your clone, she took off to eliminate the rest of the cloning facilities. Even if we miss something, when we get to the main base, we could possibly find the location of the rest."

"I agree, but we're dealing with the Illusive Man," Shepard said, "He always has a back up plan unless his arrogance has gotten the better of him."

"Then we should hope for the latter. Oh, and Shepard, if you go to the engineering deck and you see a husk, please don't kill it."

"I already know," the Commander replied, looking down, "Another product of my choice…" Shepard felt guilty for the fate of those who were turned into husks.

Liara grabbed Shepard's shoulder and looked her in the eye. "You did what you had to do…you did what you thought was right."

"Did I? For all I know…I could be indoctrinated right now…this could all be a dream," Shepard replied, the asari suddenly pressing her lips to the human's to hush her.

"If this is a dream, then I want it to never end."


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey everyone! Long time, no see, I know. Some of you probably thought I was dead, but no, that is not the case. I have had a lot of life issues come up since January, including my computer completely frying on me. I know you guys have been waiting for an update for a while, so thank you for being patient. **

**2286**

**Chapter 26**

"You don't know your dad?" questioned another child around her own age, a human boy with shaggy brown hair and emerald eyes. Kota fluttered her eyes in confusion by the question. Why was that so shocking? Many asari did not know their father. It was not uncommon in their culture.

Another one her playmates, another asari, chimed in, "We aren't human. Sometimes we are only with our moms. Sometimes our dads don't stay around."

The human boy cocked an eyebrow and looked from Kota to the other asari before saying, "My mom calls those deadbeats."

"Dead...beats?" Kota asked softly.

"It means the dad didn't want the kid because he is being selfish," the boy replied.

"That sometimes happens with us too," the other asari said, "Usually if it's a pureblood."

That word made Kota twitch. She knew it was a great insult among her people. It had also made her begin to think. Was she a pureblood? Was that why she had never met her father? Her mother had certainly never mentioned it before. Kota knew that her own mother was a pureblood. If she were a pureblood as well, would that possibly inflict the stigma of being an Ardat Yakshi? She sighed on the inside because she didn't know why not knowing her other parent had suddenly become such an issue to her. There were plenty of those like her that didn't know their father and it was perfectly fine.

"Pureblood?" Liara nearly choked on the tea she had been sipping before setting the cup down along with the datapad in her other hand to look at her young daughter, "Goddess, no." She was caught completely off guard by the question. "Where is this coming from, little one?"

Kota explained the conversation she and her other playmates had earlier that day in the park. Upon hearing this, Liara thought it might be a good idea to leave Earth soon. The relays to Thessia had been repaired already. Earth still had a long way to go before it was completely restored, but it was moving along well enough. On top of that, it was getting harder to keep her location hidden from the former crew of the Normandy.

"Well, I suppose I would have to tell you about your father sooner or later," the Shadow Broker let out a sigh before grabbing a black rectangular box shaped object from her desk. She got up and sat in the floor with her daughter. "But you have to promise that you never breathe a word of this to anyone. There are very bad people in the galaxy that did not like your father and would like to do great harm to you if they knew you existed." After Kota gave her a nod, Liara pushed a button on the box that she was thankful did not have to be a warning to the next cycle.

* * *

Kota awoke from her dream due to a knock on the metal door to her room. She wearily opened her eyes before sitting up. Placing a blue hand on her forehead, she looked to the door and asked, "Who is it?" The asari did not know why she even bothered with giving the person on the other side any attention. She didn't really feel like talking or interacting with anyone lately, not since Rex went missing. It had been a week since they had any new information from Miranda and since her father had risen from the dead once again.

"It's me," came the voice of the Commander, "Can we talk? I haven't seen much of you lately."

_'Great,' _Kota thought. Aside from not having ever been in her life until now, she had partially blamed Shepard for this whole mishap with Rex and Cerberus. It all stemmed back to the war, the Reapers, and the Savior of the Galaxy. "What do you want?" she asked.

The Commander let out an annoyed sigh before speaking again, "Look, I know I haven't been around and I know it was my own doing, but I want to get to know you. I want to be in your life."

"There are greater concerns at the moment, Shepard," the asari answered.

The marine didn't know what hurt worse, the fact that her daughter was being so distant to her or that she wouldn't give her any acknowledgment of being her parent. That wasn't going to stop her from trying, though. She was Commander Shepard after all. "We have to start somewhere," she said, "Besides, I like to know my crew before I head out on a mission."

The door suddenly slid open, the younger T'soni standing in front of Shepard. Her eyes were narrowed in just the same way Shepard would do when she was pissed. "You don't get to come back after a century and expect me to be just okay with this!"

"I don't expect that," the Commander replied while shaking her head, "But I do expect you to give me the chance I was never given."

Kota seemed almost baffled at the statement. "Really," she scoffed, "You have been out there! And you just...you..." The stress and shock of all the recent events were now starting to sink in with her anger seeping out. Her eyes, the same hue of Shepard's, began to gloss over and she brought a hand to cover her mouth. Shepard reached out to touch her, but Kota retracted. "You have no idea what it was like for me growing up...being accused of being a pureblood...not being able to say just who my father was...watching my mother mourn every single day of my life...only to learn that you've been here all along."

A pang of guilt shot through Shepard's veins, but she shook it off. "Even if I were there, you probably wouldn't have been able to reveal exactly who you are. You're luckier than most kids," she said, her renegade side coming out, "I didn't have any parents. The closest I had was a man named David Anderson. I grew up alone in some of the roughest places on Earth. I wasn't around for you, so what? You still turned out pretty well. You're a Spectre. Which by the way, if you resent me so much, why are you following in my exact footsteps?"

The asari blinked away her tears, moving her hand to show her face in a scowl, her own renegade coming out. "Because it's more exciting that digging in the dirt or decoding encryptions for hours on end."

The soldier had to snicker out loud at her daughter's remark. "Don't let your mother hear you saying that."

Kota was about to reply, but was interrupted when Ivy's voice came over the speakers above. "Commander, we've got an incoming transmission," the pilot spoke, "I think it's from Miranda."

"Patch it through to the comm room and tell everyone to gather there," Shepard ordered.

"Aye, aye, ma'am."

The Commander turned to look back at her daughter before cocking her head to gesture her out. "Looks like we've got work to do."

Shepard's daughter nodded, a serious look in her eyes. "Let's end Cerberus once and for all," she said, "And so help me if they've done anything to Rex."

They began down the hall towards the elevator, walking in step. "You address your commanding officer by her first name?" Shepard questioned as she glanced at the younger woman briefly.

"She prefers it that way," Kota answered.

"Really? Sure there isn't more to it than that?" Alex made a half grin when her daughter's face turned a light shade of purple. "Don't worry. We'll get her back."

* * *

Once everyone had gathered into the comm room, the woman on the other side of the transmission appeared in a hologram. Commander Shepard was standing in the front with Liara to her right. They were shoulder to shoulder. Kota was to the left of Shepard along with Han. Ivy and Venz stood close to one another along with Kacie and Niki. The former bounty hunter had returned within the past week after she had been able to disable all the cloning facilities she had known of. Shepard and her blonde clone had not interacted very much since her return, though Kacie had noticed the glares the Commander had shot her from time to time. She could only guess why. Actually, she knew why, but smirked to herself and on occasion shot a snide look back.

Miranda's expression went from one of seriousness to a one of confusion when she laid eyes on the one who saved them all. "Shepard," she said hesitantly.

"Lawson," the marine replied.

"Th-this is impossible," the former Cerberus operative hesitated once again, not knowing if this was some sort of set up on the Illusive Man's end or what was going on.

"It's really me," Shepard said, "Have you found out the location of Cerberus' main base?"

The woman who was newly adorned with the Spectre status looked towards Liara for some form of verification. All it took was a nod from the Shadow Broker and Miranda continued, "Yes. Unfortunately, I believe some others are onto me. So, time is of the essence. I'm forwarding the coordinates to the ship. You aren't going to like it, but I can't say more on this channel. I need to hurry and get out of here. Whatever you do, put the bastard out for good this time. It would be nice to not have to watch my back all the time for once."

Shepard gave her a nod and said, "Trust me. I'm aiming between the eyes this time. Be careful out there, Miranda."

"We've already talked about promises." With that, the woman on the other end cut the connection.

The Commander looked at the rest of the people in the room. "Uh," she started, sounding slightly confused, "Who's going to bring up the coordinates? I'm used to getting EDI to do that." Shepard had almost forgotten that this wasn't her older crew. This was Rex's team and it almost felt awkward to order around people who were used to taking it from someone else. Although, it did give her a bit of a nostalgic feeling, bringing back memories from the days when she had taken over Anderson's place in the first Normandy.

"Luckily for you," Ivy started, "I'm the ship's pilot and technically its AI...uh, if artificial intelligence still existed." The redhead brought up a console on her end of the conference like table and began uploading the data. She had a point. Since everything synthetic was also everything organic, there was no such thing as artificial intelligence.

Shepard's former pilot groaned when the data pinpointed to a certain location on a map of the galaxy. "Deja'vu," Joker let out.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Han said shaking his head.

"That's not good," Venz sighed, crossing his arms.

Ivy tapped her chin before speaking, "The galaxy's core eh? I remember the stories you told me about the Collector mission, Dad. Sounds like a challenge. I like it."

Kacie nearly facepalmed at what she thought was such a ridiculous remark from the pilot. "Yes, let's pass through the Omega-4 relay and fry. We don't have the right equipment. We don't have a Reaper IFF."

"Perhaps the Reapers could go through and do the job," Kota interjected.

"Wait," Niki jumped in, "If no one else can get in, how did Cerberus?"

"They began going in after Shepard's suicide mission," Liara replied, "I believe they made duplicates of the IFF the SR-2 used. Unfortunately, that Normandy is the only ship besides Cerberus vessels that has the IFF."

Shepard shook her head and intervened on everyone's speculations, "Wrong." This gained a confused look from Liara. "Every ship in existence could pass through the Omega-4 relay."

"You wanna explain how?" Kacie asked.

"When I made my choice with the Crucible, it combined everything organic and synthetic," the Commander began, "Including Reaper coding. Everyone and everything has Reaper code now. Anyone could go through it like a normal relay."

"Shepard," EDI began, "Normal relays do not have massive debris fields on the other side."

"Pssh, I can handle it," Ivy said with pure confidence in herself.

"That's not the point," Joker said, "People are willing to send in fleets to take Cerberus down. Dreadnoughts and asteroids don't mix...unless their exploding. Very dramatic."

"Then here's the plan," Shepard said, "I'll take Harbinger and the others into it first. We will clear out enough of the debris for the fleets to come through. The only problem is, there are no comm buoys within the core, so we will have to time it correctly. The Reapers will be the spearhead of the battle. We break through a part of the field, portions of the fleets come in after. And knowing Cerberus, they will be quick to react. This will be a bloody battle. There will be casualties, but we've done this before. Everything you, Rex's team, has worked for all comes down to this. Commander Williams needs you at your best right now, all of you. This is your time to show her that you have not and will not give up on her. And this will be the moment where Cerberus finally falls." Everyone in the room straightened their backs, including Joker, EDI, and Liara. They knew it was one of Shepard's super serious speeches. Everyone saluted the Savior of the Galaxy before she dismissed them. They all returned to their stations, except for Liara.

The Shadow Broker stepped to Shepard, facing her. Liara glance up slightly, only being a few inches shorter than her love. She pressed her lips fully to the soldier's before she placed both her gloved hands on the back of the buzzed head. Both their eyes closed as Shepard embraced the asari in her arms, returning the act of affection. After a few moments, Liara pulled from the soft kiss. Shepard almost seemed dazed. She looked down with hazy eyes and asked, "What was that for?"

Liara gave her a mischievous smirk and winked her eye. "I have missed the speeches you give to boost morale. They've always given me...what you humans call 'goosebumps.' You have a way with words, Shepard."

**Again, I want to say sorry for such the long delay. Also, I realize that the Citadel DLC was released recently and I haven't had the chance to download it and play it, so there will probably be lots of things not canon with that. I also find it ironic that I just so happen to be in the middle of a fanfic about Shep clones and they make that DLC. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!**


	27. Chapter 27

**2286**

**Chapter 27**

Deep within the bowels of Cerberus' main base, Damien Brent was berating Rex with questions. Beatings were usually followed up by those inquiries as the Spectre refused to answer them. Bruises covered the Alliance soldier's body, including a busted lip and a black eye. She looked as if she had lost about ten pounds within the past week. This was due to the fact that she refused anything they tried to feed her, but then they started giving her nutrition intravenously. Cerberus obviously thought they would break her eventually, which meant they had to keep her alive. Damien appeared to be getting spent and he grunted while wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"Alright," he said, "I'm done with you for today." A smirk played across his lips when he heard his daughter breathe a sigh of relief. "I didn't say that you were done. I have a little surprise for you, child."

He looked down at his omnitool as it lit up on his forearm telling whoever was on the other side of the wall to, "Send him in." He was given a general reply of acknowledgment before the lock on the door released and it slid open. The silhouette of another male figure stood behind the door and Rex's eyes grew wide with disbelief as the figure stepped into the room.

"Kaiden," she whispered, out of breath. Her blood ran cold as ice when she saw her brother with glowing light blue eyes and inky blackness running up his neck, tickling his jawline. "What have they done to you!?" she cried out.

Kaiden gave his sister a grim smirk before saying, "I have sought the truth for all of my life, as has Cerberus. However, Cerberus has always been one step ahead of me. So they made me better. Guardian knows the truth, so where is it?"

"Truth," Rex said as she glanced back and forth between the two, "I told you I don't know where it is and even if I did, I would never tell you!"

"That's not good enough" Kaiden said before thrusting the butt of his rifle into her abdomen, consequently making her pass out.

* * *

Cutting off the connection from her transmission to the Normandy, Miranda sat back in her seat sighing. The former Cerberus operative figured now was as good a time as ever to get the hell out of there. She rose from her chair to walk towards the exit of her office when the doors slid open and a man who stood about half a foot taller than her walked in. He had jet black hair, ocean blue eyes, and was wearing a formal Cerberus uniform. Miranda took a few steps back from her visitor and said "Director Mason, is there anything I can help you with?"

Xavier Mason was the lead director of this particular Cerberus cell and he had always watched Miranda like a hawk. During her stay with Cerberus, for the second time around, Miranda had spoken to him once or twice and he seemed like a nice enough guy, but then again he was Cerberus. He gave her a gentle smile and said, "I think they're on to you, you should probably take your leave now."

Lawson managed to stifle a gasp as she didn't want to appear as though she knew exactly what he was talking about for she didn't want to blow the entire plan. "I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"I know what you're here for Spectre," he replied as his smile transformed into a grin, "No worries, I'm on your side."

"Who exactly are you?" she asked.

"There's no time for that, you need to go now. I'll hold off Cerberus for as long as I can." he said as he stepped to the side to allow her out of the office.

Miranda didn't have the slightest clue as to what had just transpired, but she knew when to take what she could get and hastily made her exit without further question.

"Call me sometime!" he said as she left.

* * *

Kacie knocked gently on the metal door of the Normandy's infirmary. Suspecting that it was just another crew member, Niki replied with, "Come in."

The door unsealed and swished open before the blonde stepped in. She was given a look of disgust by the doctor so she lifted her hands in defense. "Look, I just need to explain myself before we go into this."

"You've done enough explaining, Kacie." Niki said with a heavy sigh. She gave a roll of her eyes before returning to her work, preparing the med bay before they headed into battle.

"My job was to keep Cerberus from finding out things that they, nor anyone else, should know. There are things about Shepard, the Reapers, and even myself that if known, could destroy the entire structure of the Galactic Society within a matter of days." Kacie said.

"Like what?"

Kacie looked down with heavy eyes and a sorrowful guilty expression before whispering "I can't tell you. There's some things that the world is not supposed to know about."

* * *

Two fleets of Alliance warships amassed and rose behind a horde of Reapers, all reflecting the red tint that shone from the core of the Omega-4 Relay. The SR-3 Normandy stood at the front lines of the Alliance ships with two dreadnaughts on either side.

Shepard, Liara, and Kota stood behind the red headed pilot while Joker and EDI sat in the two co-pilot seats. "Admiral Vega and General Williams are requesting to board the Normandy, commander." Ivy announced.

"Request granted, let them in." Shepard replied with a nod. She turned away to greet her old friends at the hatch. When the two Alliance brass officers finally came through the door, they appeared to have seen a ghost. Neither one of them had been told who exactly was the new commanding officer of the Normandy, only that it was a surprise. Ashley didn't know what to make of it given her past of not having trusted Shepard for working with Cerberus, all that James knew was that if Shepard could die and be brought back to life one time, why not twice?

"Before you ask, yes it really is me." Shepard said.

"I can testify for that!" Liara broke in.

Still looking astonished all James could ask was "How?"

Shepard replied with "Basically the same way EDI got her body."

"Works for me," the general said with a slightly strained voice. Ashley looked visibly strained and for good reasons. At this point she didn't have the energy to argue whether or not Shepard had made a good or bad decision. All she wanted was to go rescue her children.

"So what's the plan?" James inquired.

"I'll be going through the relay with Guardian, Harbinger, and the rest of the Reapers to clear the way. When five minutes have passed, you guys start sending ships in a few at a time within five minute intervals. That should give us enough time to clear a path to the base. The Reapers can only start attacking once we've cleared a path so you'll have to defend us while Cerberus goes on the offensive. Once I get to the base, I'll set up a rendezvous point where the rest of you can meet up with me." Shepard explained.

"Wait," Liara interrupted, "You're not staying on the Normandy?"

The Commander turned to look at her asari partner. "I have to stay with Guardian remember? Otherwise this body will shut down. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"You better be." Liara said with a stern look, "Because if I lose you a third time, I will literally die."

Shepard walked to Liara and closed the gap between them with an embrace and said with a low husky voice, "I'm always coming back."

The asari returned the embrace and gave the human a gentle kiss on the lips while fighting back tears. "I love you."

"I love you too, Liara," the Commander replied before letting go to face the other two Alliance officers. "You guys ready?"

"Been ready," Ashley answered with a nod.

"On your command, Shepard." James said with a salute as if he were still a lower rank than Shepard. That's just how much respect everyone had for the Savior of the Galaxy. It didn't matter what rank or position you held within the Alliance, everyone looked up to Shepard.

The group made their way back to the cockpit and Shepard placed a hand on the back of Ivy's seat. "Alright, get this thing docked with Guardian and we'll proceed from there."

"Aye, aye."

* * *

The Illusive Man sat in his chair while puffing on a cigarette and speaking to one of his many techs who was trying to figure out a recent glitch in the station's defense system. Damien Brent, his current right hand man, was standing next to him with his arms behind his back.

"I don't care where this glitch came from, just make sure you get the system back up," he spoke as he ashed his cigarette. Just then the holographic screen went to static and a silhouette appeared.

"I hope you and Cerberus have enjoyed your time here Mr. Harper," the shadowy figure said, "Soon everything shall come to pass."

The Illusive Man's glowing blue eyes narrowed at the screen as it went to static once again and he uttered beneath his breath, "Mason."

As if on cue the entire floor beneath them rocked violently before all the power shut down, leaving them in the dark. Suddenly alarms began going off throughout the station with the only illumination of areas being a flash of red light.

Brent took a step back and pivoted on one foot to glance around the room, frantically trying to find any sort of intruder. When he saw none, he turned back to the Illusive Man and said, "I'll go check it out."

The boss lifted up his hand and shook his head. "No, you'll stay here. They'll eventually come."

"Who?"

* * *

Being restrained while sleeping is terribly uncomfortable, but being exhausted mentally and physically will eventually force the body to shut down. The thought of death on the horizon didn't keep Rex awake but the ear-piercing alarm shook her from her slumber. Her eyes opened half way but she couldn't really make out anything except the flashing of crimson lights. She wondered if maybe someone had finally decided to get the jump on Cerberus, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind the door to her cell was pried apart. Kaiden walked through with a grim look on his face.

"Looks like the Alliance has come to rescue you," he snarled. Rex's brother looked down at the gun in his hand, which looked like a flame thrower but with a narrower tip. A smirk formed on his lips as he looked back towards Rex. "Too bad it'll all be in vain." He then made his way back out of the cell.

Rex had seen that type of gun before and it wasn't used for any sort of marksmanship. She didn't necessarily know what it's uses were but had often seen it used in construction. Then it hit her, it was a welding gun.

"KAIDEN!" she screamed as she struggled against her restraints which was useless, "What are you doing? Let me out of here! They've brain washed you!" Her cries for help were useless as the seam between the two doors began to melt and became one. Rex gave a final angry, violent jerk against her restraints before giving in and letting out a defeated sigh.

* * *

The clearing of debris had gone much more smoothly than Shepard had anticipated. Cerberus had still not detected the Reapers presence within their vicinity and that seemed a bit odd. The Commander didn't waste time dwelling on it, instead she and the other former enemies continued on their plan. It had been five galactic minutes and she knew that Alliance ships would be coming through the relay at any moment.

Warships began popping up out of thin air with the Normandy spearheading the operation. Apparently awaiting a full on battle, the Alliance ships had their weaponry ready to fire. "Hold your fire!" Shepard's voice came over the intercoms. James repeated the message himself and everyone awaited new orders.

"Why isn't Cerberus attacking?" Ashley asked just before the Commander's face appeared on a screen in the cock pit of the Normandy.

"I don't know," Shepard said, "They could either have a poor defense system or they're expecting us and have a plan. But if they're not expecting us, I say we surprise them. Wait until we clear the rest of this path and then start firing."

"What, is Cerberus acting like the Geth now? They can't look out a window?" Joker said sarcastically.

From the other side of the room EDI chimed in, "It appears as if their radars may be offline and not detecting us, but we are still too far away for them to see us. Their weaponry is not offline so I would say that as soon as some organic detects us, they will begin to attack."

"How did you know that?" Ivy asked.

"I still have my ways." EDI replied.

The closer the Reapers and the Alliance got the bigger the Cerberus fleets became and some worry began to grow within Shepard as to how this would all play out. The Cerberus fleets surrounded a station that seemed to be the same length as the Collector base which used to be in it's place. It appeared to be vertical in contrast to the galactic core and it's disc. It started as a cone from it's bottom and erected upwards to split into three separate sections that bent forward in whichever direction they were pointed. A rotating ring with long protruding spikes encircled the midsection of the station.

She knew it wouldn't be a Reaper war all over again but it would be just another battle told in the stories of history. The Commander cursed herself for being lost in her thoughts because that's when the first attack came. Cannon fire smashed into the upper shields of Guardian. Shepard winced as the Reaper she was in rattled violently. It didn't take any command from her for Alliance ships to start firing back. Shepard wasted no time in returning attacks as well, Guardian sliced through a Cerberus ship like butter with a red beam. However, another red beam lashed out at a Reaper nearby causing it to explode, that was when Shepard's worry began to deepen. Cerberus had managed to equip their ships with Reaper-type weapons.

"Watch out they have Reaper weapons!" Shepard warned the incoming fleets behind her.

Bright explosions lit up the space around them as the battle raged on. The Normandy and Guardian soared through the massive battle like agile birds, dodging and anticipating enemy attacks as they made their way to the Cerberus base. Shepard spotted an opening from which Cerberus jet fighters were spewing out of periodically and assumed that since last time that was a good point of entry, it would work just as well this time. She made Guardian fire a beam into the barrier of the opening shortly before latching on her helmet so that she could bring her cockpit to the same level as the opening and eject herself from her seat. She flew forward head first all the while preparing her assault rifle and landed with one knee on the ground. Shepard took cover behind a well placed metal crate while she waited on the shuttle from the Normandy, only popping out ever so often to take down Cerberus troops.

The shuttle piloted by Huskins entered the station, blowing up a group of troops with the main gun to make clearance for landing. Once it was on the ground the door lifted open and all of Rex's main squad mates including Liara, Ashley, and James filed out to begin their assault on Cerberus. Liara took her place next to Shepard and they both looked each other in the eye before simultaneously nodding, as if one knew exactly what the other was thinking. The couple lifted from cover at the same time as Liara threw a Singularity and Shepard began nailing down floating enemies. Han began sniping down the ones who were too far back for the others to hit accurately while Kacie flung herself into close range combat with the men who got a little too close for comfort, using her biotics to break necks and explode hearts. Vega threw a well aimed fusion grenade into a crowd of men, instantly melting them down, while Ashley shot down strays. Nikki was doing her best to hold the line while making sure to apply medi-gel to herself and the others should they need it. Venz lifted up his shotgun with one hand to fire in the face of a Cerberus troop at point blank range. Kota had lifted up a biotic dome around them to protect them from gunfire as best she could.

Finally the area was cleared and Ivy relayed a message to Shepard saying "Commander, we have Quarian and Turian fleets coming through the relay!"

Surprised by this new development Shepard turned around to walk towards the edge of the opening. She looked up to see that indeed those allies had shown up to provide assistance. "What the hell are they doing here?" Shepard questioned, to no one in particular.

If Turians could smirk Han certainly would have as he said, "I may have dropped a hint or two on my mom and dad."

Creeping up from one of the darkened corners of the jet fighter hangar a stray Cerberus troop took aim for Shepard's head and pulled the trigger. Two shots rang out but it was the enemy's head that exploded like a watermelon as a shot whizzed by Shepard's ear. Instinctively, Shepard spun around with her rifle locked and loaded only to see the enemy soldier fall. She glanced around to see who took the shot and saw that it was none of the main squad mates. The Commander then looked towards the shuttle to see Huskins with a high caliber sniper rifle. Shepard and the others gave the husk a quizzical look, Grant just looked back at them and gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"Nice shot Huskins." Shepard said with a nod, "Thank you."

"No problem." he replied.

"You should head back to the Normandy and await extraction orders." the Commander said. Grant gave a salute before returning to the shuttle to get back to the ship. "Ivy I need you to protect Guardian as much as possible. While I'm in here, it's pretty much a sitting duck. However, if any of the fleets begin taking severe casualties you have to go assist them."

"You got it Commander." Ivy replied.

Shepard turned to the rest of the group and looked at her partner before saying, "Liara, find a console and see if you can bring up a map to this place or find the locations of Rex and the Illusive Man." She then looked to the others and said "We'll probably need to split into two separate teams, one to find Rex and the other to find the Illusive Man."

"Forget it." Kota interrupted, "We're already wasting enough time here deciding on the best plan of action. I'll go find Rex myself!"

"Kota, I don't think that would be a good idea." Liara retorted.

The younger asari just shook her head and said "I don't care what you think, I work better alone anyways."

Shepard began to speak, but it was too late. Her daughter had already disappeared behind two sliding doors. She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh of frustration. Her daughter was too much like her, too hard headed.

* * *

Kota took a deep breath in an attempt to tune out the alarms which seemed ten times louder in a narrow hallway. She found an open terminal and with a little bit of hacking skill that she learned from her mother, she managed to turn off the alarms screeching through the station and get back some of the basic power. She also attempted to find out where Rex was being held and where the Illusive Man might be, both queries came up "Classified." Kota cursed under her breath and said to herself, "Looks like I'm going to have to _ask_ somebody." The young asari armed herself before she continued down the corridor. Ever so often the lights would flicker and the station would rumble with the battle that was waging outside. There was a door just ahead of her with two Cerberus emblems on it and she leaned with her back on the wall to the side of it before triggering it to open. As it slid open, she pushed a button on a flash grenade and threw it in. Thankfully, there were only three Cerberus agents inside, she executed two but only injured the third. The asari walked to the downed man, he was still alive and knelt on one knee.

"Where is the Alliance soldier Cerberus has held captive?" she asked with a stern tone.

"I'm not telling you anything, bitch." the agent spat back.

Kota reached beneath a broken plate of armor on the man's abdomen and dug her fingers into the wound she had inflicted on him before saying, "I'll ask you again, where is the Alliance soldier?"

The man cried out in agony before finally answering, "In the bowels!"

Kota quirked an eyebrow and asked, "The bowels?"

"Th-th-the station! It-it-it's designed after the Cerberus. The prisoner cells are in the lower parts of the station."

"And the Illusive Man?"

"I'm as good as dead if I tell you that."

"You're dead if you don't tell me."

"The head that faces the core." the agent sputtered out before his eyes widened to see Kota's other fist illuminated with a biotic pulse.

"May you find peace within the embrace of the Goddess." Kota said just before she smashed her fist through the face plate of the agent's helmet.

* * *

The blaring alarms had finally stopped and this would have given Rex some peace but the lights were still flickering and the station around her was still shuddering with wrath. It's not like it had mattered anymore though, she was still held captive and technically sealed permanently in her cell. The broken soldier closed her eyes and hung her head with defeat. A few moments later however she could hear a faint feminine voice down the hallway. Her eyes shot open as she tried to listen more intently. The voice got closer and soon she realized that it was her name being shouted and it wasn't just anyone shouting it, it was Kota. Desperately Rex began struggling against her restraints again.

"Kota I'm in here!" Rex shouted, "Kota!"

Hearing the frantic cries for help, the asari quickened her pace towards the room they were coming from. Once she figured out which cell Rex was in she punched the door in realization that it had been welded shut.

"Damn it!" Kota shouted.

"I know." Rex huffed loudly, "I don't know how you're going to get in."

The frustration caused from being so close yet so far away from saving Rex caused the asari's biotics to flare up. "Are you off centered from the door?"

"What?" Rex asked, slightly confused.

"Just answer me!"

"Yeah, I am!"

Kota charged her biotics with all her might before pummeling her fist into the center of the door. It had only made a small dent causing her to grumble.

"Uh, I don't think that's gonna work..." Rex stated.

"YOU DON'T TELL ME! WHAT I CAN! AND CAN'T DO!" Kota shouted with each explosive punch until she literally punched a big enough hole in the door for her to squeeze through.

Rex greeted Kota with wide eyes and said, "Remind me to never piss you off."

The asari shuffled over to the human and began undoing her restraints all the while fussing, "You're such an idiot! You could have died! You look like shit! You're so stupid!"

Once she was finally freed, Rex grasped Kota's shoulders and looked her in the eye and said, "Hey! Hey I'm fine!"

The asari went silent for a moment before bursting into tears and sobbing, "I was so worried about you! They said that you were dead! These last two weeks have been hell on me!"

"Geez, from the sound of it, I'd say you were in love with me." Rex replied.

Kota hesitated before looking up at Rex with teary eyes and saying, "Maybe I am..."

A smile spread across Rex's face as she pulled the asari tightly into her arms before locking lips with her. "I love you too, Kota."

"We'll talk about this later," Kota replied. "Right now, we have to go find those bastards that did this to you!"

* * *

The Illusive Man watched the screens before him intently while Damien anxiously paced behind him. The leader of Cerberus was keeping an eye on the situation outside his station, having full confidence that his fleets would have the ability to annihilate what he thought was a small problem. Somehow, he had managed to revive the security cameras throughout the station and his eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of Shepard's face with a squad. He took a long drag off of a cigarette and contemplated what this all meant. His thoughts were interrupted when the door of his sanctum exploded behind him. Brent came to a halt, quickly arming himself with a rifle and carefully aiming at the entrance.

"So nice of you to join us." the Illusive Man said calmly as he rose to his feet, putting out his cigarette in the process.

The asari Spectre and the once captive human Spectre stepped through the smoke and into the lair. Somehow or another on the way Rex had managed to procure a rocket launcher however, there was no spare armor to have been found. Kota had also lent her heavy pistol to the human. Rex dropped the now empty RPG to the floor as she and Kota walked closer to the two men.

Damien fired warning shots at their feet to stop them in their tracks and said, "That's far enough."

"This has all been far enough." Rex said to him with a scowl, "This ends here."

The Illusive Man turned to face the women with an emotionless face and said, "Yes, it does. The truth is here, right now in this station."

"What is this truth you people keep spouting off about?" Rex questioned.

"It's not really any of your concern, now is it?" he replied. "Look, I'll cut you a deal. You turn around and walk away now and the Citadel is saved."

Both Kota and Rex gave him slightly confused looks. "The Citadel? What do you mean?" Kota asked.

"You mean you don't know? I'm sure your Shadow Broker would have surely caught on to it by now." the Illusive Man explained, "All the while you've been concerned with me and my interests in the Reapers, I've been integrating Cerberus with other species of the galaxy. I've been trying to make Cerberus stand for something greater. It's not just about the humans anymore, it's about all of us and how we got to this level of civilization. The Council, the Alliance, and even Shepard would like to keep us all in the dark. You can walk away now and save the Citadel from massive destruction. Besides, all I'm really interested in now is Shepard, and she will find me eventually."

Kota and Rex looked at each other, a little unsure of what to do. It's not like Shepard was in any danger of the Illusive Man at the moment and they could go find her and give her fair warning. They both had defeated looks because they knew in their minds what the answer was. They just nodded to each other and turned to walk out the door.

"By the way, Miss T'soni," the Illusive Man said as he lifted up a pistol, "Cerberus would like to thank you for all of your hard work." He then pulled the trigger firing a shot into the asari's left shoulder.

Instinct and blind rage were all that fueled Rex now as she spun around firing her pistol, only to have her father empty a thermal clip from his assault rifle at her.

Goosebumps ran up Rex's bare arms as her body fell back, coming into harsh contact with the cold metal floor below her. After a few seconds that seemed like eternity, she lifted her left hand to her abdomen slowly to touch a hole in the fabric of her shirt. It was warm with liquid seeping from her flesh, she couldn't lift her head to look at her hand because it felt like her entire torso was on fire. She turned her head to the right to see the asari on the floor only a few feet away from her, turned over on her stomach. The other woman's blue eyes were wide with a single tear falling down the bridge of her nose before it met the floor. She attempted to speak to Kota but a sharp pain ran through her causing her to inhale but only to be met with more pain that induced a cough. The taste of iron filled her mouth with a nauseating amount. Her peripheral vision began to dim, the blackness moving fast for her main vision. Rex reached out towards Kota's gloved hand, noticing that she too was bleeding badly.

The Illusive Man stepped over to his screens to see that the Normandy was now having to assist other fleets. "Focus fire on Guardian." he ordered before turning towards Damien, "Finish them."

Rex's pulse, beating loudly in her ears, muffled the voices of the men talking near them. She tried with all her might to reach but then she noticed Damien's boots step in between them. Her eyes ran up his legs, to his face, and to the barrel of a gun aimed at her head. He gave an evil smirk, and everything went dark. If one were standing at the end of the hallway, they could hear two shots go off.

**Well, if you haven't guessed by now, this is the beginning of the end. I would like to thank my wonderful girlfriend for writing this as I drove down the road. So, if anything seems off from my writing style, that's why. Otherwise, this chapter would have taken ten times longer than it was supposed to. And thank you all for keeping up with this so far. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**


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